The NBA Podcast

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss which players should sign rookie-scale extensions ahead of the Oct. 21 deadline. Should the Toronto Raptors max out Pascal Siakam? How much should the New Orleans Pelicans be willing to spend on Brandon Ingram? Is Buddy Hield a max-caliber player? What's a fair price point for Jaylen Brown and Domanta...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Dave DuFour (@DaveDuFourNBA) of The Athletic go through their League Pass rankings for the 2019-20 NBA season. Which teams are must-watch this season? Which teams can you safely ignore? Do either of the L.A. teams top the list? Where do Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans rank? Check o...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Gerald Bourguet (@geraldbourguet) of The Step Back preview the Pacific Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. How will D'Angelo Russell fit next to Stephen Curry? Who should start next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the Los Angeles Clippers? Can Dwight Howard redeem himself with the Los Angeles Lakers? How much...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) preview the Atlantic Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Who will the Boston Celtics miss more: Kyrie Irving or Al Horford? Can Caris LeVert become an All-Star this year in Brooklyn? Can the New York Knicks find enough minutes for everyone this season? How will Al Horford fit next to Joel Embiid? Should...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) of Mavs.com preview the Southwest Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. What should we expect from Kristaps Porzingis this year? How will Russell Westbrook and James Harden fit together? How will the Memphis Grizzlies move on from the Grit 'n' Grind era? What are realistic e...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Andy Bailey (@andrewdbailey) of the Hardwood Knocks podcast preview the Northwest Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. How much of a difference will Jerami Grant make with the Denver Nuggets? Is there any hope for Andrew Wiggins? How will the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust to life after Russ...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Duncan Smith (@duncansmithnba) of Forbes preview the Central Division ahead of the 2019-20 season. How will the Chicago Bulls' point guard rotation shake out? Are Cleveland Cavaliers guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland compatible? Will this be Andre Drummond's last year in Detroit? Do the n...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel) of Peachtree Hoops and Early Bird Rights preview the Southeast Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Could the Atlanta Hawks make the playoffs this year? Are the Orlando Magic the favorites in the division? How will Jimmy Butler mesh with the Miami Heat? Do the Charl...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) are joined by T.J. McBride (@TJMcBrideNBA) of Mile High Sports to conduct an all-time NBA draft. How do the all-time starting fives stack up? How far did Kobe Bryant fall? Which all-time greats went undrafted? And which team wound up as the best? Check out the episode to hear Morten, Bryan and T.J. discuss al...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss Dwight Howard signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Caris LeVert's extension with the Brooklyn Nets and whether Joe Johnson is worthy of an NBA roster spot. Will Howard actually embrace a smaller role with the Lakers, or will he become a distraction? Did the Nets get good value on LeVert's extension? C...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Brandon Jefferson (@Jefferson_Hoops) of The Basketball Writers preview the 2019 FIBA World Cup. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Team USA's roster? Which teams pose the biggest threat to the Americans? Is Team USA in legitimate danger of not winning the World Cup? Check out the episode...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) rank the top 10 duos in the NBA today. Where do Russell Westbrook and James Harden rank after joining forces this summer? How high are Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the wake of the former's Achilles injury? Which L.A. duo is the best in the NBA? Check out the episode to hear Morten and Bryan discuss all of...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the impact of DeMarcus Cousins' torn ACL and make their picks for every Eastern Conference team's over/under.  With Cousins likely to miss the 2019-20 season, how should the Los Angeles Lakers react? Will the Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers win upward of 60 games? Why are oddsmakers so low on th...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) make their picks for every Western Conference team's over/under ahead of the 2019-20 season. Are the Los Angeles Clippers going to finish with the most wins of any West team? Will the L.A. Lakers win 50-plus games? Why are oddsmakers so low on the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs? Can the Phoe...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Seth Partnow (@SethPartnow) of The Athletic discuss NBA team-building in the player-empowerment era and basketball analytics. Do teams need to shorten their planning windows with players on the move so frequently? How has the discourse around analytics changed over the years? Which advanced metrics tend to get misused...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the NBA's Christmas Day slate, Draymond Green's new extension and Carmelo Anthony's future. Which games stand out on the NBA's Christmas Day slate? Did the Golden State Warriors get a steal with Green's new four-year, $100 million extension? Which teams make sense as a potential landing spot for Antho...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) is joined by Bleacher Report's NBA Draft lead writer Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) to discuss summer-league standouts and the 2020 draft class. Which second-year players stood out at summer league? Which rookies already look like draft-day steals? Did any players raise red flags? How does the 2020 draft class look at the moment? Is...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) is joined by special guest Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) to discuss life as an NBA video coordinator and the upcoming battle for L.A. What do video coordinators do on a day-to-day basis? How is preparing for the regular season different than the playoffs? What's the secret to avoiding information overload? Can Frank Vogel get the Lakers' de...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) power rank the new-look Eastern Conference in the wake of free agency.  Which team should be the favorite in the East, the Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers? Which teams look like playoff locks? Which teams could sneak in as a No. 7 or No. 8 seed? And which teams should already be looking ahead to 2020? C...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and Bleacher Report senior NBA writer Howard Beck attempt to sort out the new-look Western Conference. Which team should enter the 2019-20 season as the favorite in the West? Where do the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers rank after their big offseason moves? Are the Golden State Warriors in danger of missi...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) give their instant reaction to Russell Westbrook being traded to the Houston Rockets. How does Westbrook fit with James Harden on the court? Did the Rockets give up too much to get him? Where does this trade leave the Oklahoma City Thunder? Should they be looking to trade Chris Paul immediately? Check out the...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss Russell Westbrook's trade value and which teams should be attempting to acquire him. What should the Oklahoma City Thunder want in exchange for Westbrook? How could the Miami Heat make a deal work given their hard-cap issues? Does he make sense for the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando M...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) go through the biggest winners and losers from a wild first week of NBA free agency. Which teams came out ahead in free agency? Which teams should have some regrets? And who does the jury remain out on? Check out the episode to hear Morten and Bryan discuss all of that and more. Follow us on Twitter: @TheNBAP...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) give their immediate reaction to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George heading to the Los Angeles Clippers. Are the Clippers now the NBA title favorites in 2019-20? How will the Los Angeles Lakers bounce back after missing out on Leonard? Should the Oklahoma City Thunder consider trading Russell Westbrook after shipp...

In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the big signings from Day 2 of 2019 NBA free agency. Who came out ahead in the four-team Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade? Are the Knicks actually doing something smart in free agency? How will Seth Curry fare in Dallas? Have NBA teams learned their lesson about overpaying traditional big men? Check out th...