48 Minutes

0:00 ... Ross welcomes everyone to the show and introduces the crew.

0:32 ... Show #256 is dedicated to Nikola Jokic, who had a triple double last Christmas that included a 56 point scoring night.

0:48 ... Ross begins with the Jaylen Brown trade from the Celtics to the 76ers ... Bruce starts the discussion off with his thoughts on the deal.  It was a salary dump and it also allowed the team to avoid having to discuss another super max extension with Brown.  World B felt it was a move dictated by Brad Stevens' bosses.

5:20 ... Bruce discusses what it feels like to see Brown going to Philly, an ancient rival of the Celtics.  And it was set in motion by Brad Stevens' failure to deal Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

7:19 ... Ross feels like Paul George is nothing special at this point of his career.

7:54 ... Should the Celtics be worried about their outlook next season?  Bruce feels like Boston could be anywhere between a 4 and 6 seed and Jayson Tatum as the new "Alpha" will be challenged in the area of leadership.

9:40 ... World B wonders if the Celtics will change their "3 Point Happy" offensive style.

11:08 ... Where does Philadelphia stack up in the east?  Joel Embiid is no longer "The Franchise" and his slow pace may be detrimental to the faster style that Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Brown will want to play.  The Sixers should seriously consider a future move to offload Embiid and his monster contract if possible.  World B feels the 76ers are a very thin team even though they look much better on paper with Brown.

16:23 ... The Lakers took a huge swing on Walker Kessler to be Luka Doncic's center.  Doncic lost his running mate in LeBron James and with Luka now expected to be the leader of the team, Bruce questions whether he has what it takes "from the neck up" to be a legit team leader and he explains what Luka needs to address in his own performance to become a better leader.

18:01 ... World B feels if LA is a top 4 seed in the west, Luka could be a solid MVP candidate.  Kessler has missed a lot of games the past two years so his reliability could be an issue.  Ross feels like some of the other signings by LA will help coach JJ Redick implement the type of style that will be successful.

20:45 ... Lots of free agent signings ... John Collins goes to Detroit and replaces Tobias Harris.

22:56 ... Marcus Smart reunites with his former coach in Boston Ime Udoka as a member of the Houston Rockets.  Smart fits the Rockets culture perfectly.

24:41 ... Norman Powell leaves the Miami Heat and heads to Chicago ... none of the panelists feel particularly strongly about this move for the Bulls.

36:28 ... Tobias Harris joins the Spurs and brings his experience and mentoring skills to a young team that showed its inexperience in the 2026 Finals against the Knicks.

28:11 ... Andre Drummond replaces Mitchell Robinson with the Knicks as the backup to Karl-Anthony Towns.  His rebounding provides similar skills as those of Robinson.

30:24 ... Two interesting Summer League rules will be tested this summer.  The "one free throw" experiment is worth a try but Bruce has major issues because at the end of games, there is a lot of strategy surrounding free throws that will be lost if this rule ever becomes permanent.  World B questions why there is any need for this rule change AT ALL.

33:07 ... The "connected" basketball is another experiment by the league.  Bruce questions how it will even work and if players' fingerprints are part of the equation, the Players Association is likely to have major issues with the use of data like that being used in this way.

35:00 .... Final Thought: Bruce on Lebron James' future.

36:56 ... Final Thought: World B on whether the balance of power is gradually shifting towards the east.

38:39 ... Final thought: Ross on early Summer League standouts so far.

40:26 ... Ross wraps it up and says goodbye

TRT 40:41

 

 

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0:00 Intro

1:08 LeBron James notifies the Lakers to move on

6:09 Kawhi Leonard traded back to Toronto

11:22 Ja Morant traded to Portland

16:29 The Charlotte Hornets have been some busy bees

26:02 The Golden State Warriors remain in win now mode

30:50 The Miami Heat making some moves

35:59 Knicks retain some key role players

37:08 Spurs pursuing some depth in free agency

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0:00 .... Ross hello and welcome, introduces the panelists, and dedicates show #254 to Sam Mitchell, who was drafted #54 overall in the 1985 NBA Draft.

0:58 ... Giannis Antetokounmpo is now a member of the Miami Heat after the Bucks traded him on Monday night.  The guys react to the trade and feel like the Bucks took a better deal from Miami than Boston was willing to offer with their package involving Jaylen Brown.

5:35 ... The Heat will need to add some shooting if they want to put a team out there that can compete even though they've added a Hall of Famer in Giannis.  Ross feels that Miami can't go "cheap" and has to stay aggressive.

10:14 ... The Heat have been excellent at developing talent over the years and they will find some diamonds in the rough to complement Giannis and Bam Adebayo.

10:55 ... Ross shares his "wish list" of guys he wants the Heat to go after during the next few months.

12:00 ... The guys discuss the future for the Bucks after losing their best player.  Ross feels like they may even improve on their record from last season under new coach Taylor Jenkins.  Bruce was having flashbacks to 1975 when Milwaukee traded another superstar player who went on to great success with his new team.  World B does not share Ross's optimism about the Bucks prospects next season.

17:10 ... Now that Jaylen Brown knows he was on the trading block, can he return to the Celtics feeling good about his relationship with the team and with fellow star Jayson Tatum?

21:49 ... Julius Randle is traded from Minnesota to Brooklyn in a three team trade that also has Nik Claxton going from the Nets to the Bulls and the Wolves shedding salary and signing Ayo Dosunmu to a contract extension.  The deal frees "Nuclear Naz" Reid to start at power forward for the Wolves.

26:01 ... The guys examine the first round of the draft on Tuesday with an extended discussion of AJ Dybantsa to Washington, Darryn Peterson to Utah, and Cameron Boozer to Memphis.

30:12 ... The guys discuss the big winners in the first round ... Bruce likes OKC drafting 7'3" Aday Mara, who could develop into a defender that can battle Victor Wembanyama more effectively than Chet Holmgren did in the playoffs.

31:14 ... Bruce liked Sacramento choosing Alex Karaban, who reminds him of former Kings sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic.

32:38 ... World B liked the draft choices that Charlotte made with Christian Anderson from Texas Tech and Zuby Ejiafor from St John's.  He also liked Kingston Flemings going to Atlanta as their point guard of the future.  Ross really liked how Memphis snagged Karim Lopez at #21 along with Cam Boozer at #3 and also stockpiled some additional picks with some trades.

36:06 .... Biggest losers?  Bruce cited the seven teams that did not have draft picks in the first round.  World B felt the Nets messed up their first round pick by passing on Darius Acuff and choosing Mikel Brown.

38:21 ... Bruce has a final thought about his work on the NBA Draft between 2003-2017 when he was at ESPN.  Watching the fantasy become a reality for the draftees and their families is something that he never got tired of witnessing

39:21 ... Ross wraps the show

TRT 39:40

 

 

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0:00 Intro

1:03 World B opens the show sharing what the last 48 hours have been like as a diehard Knicks fan

1:37 Game 5 Recap & 2026 NBA Finals in Review

11:09 Did Wemby’s reputation take a significant hit in the NBA Finals?

16:38 Is it already time for the Spurs to move on from De’Aaron Fox?

22:51 How much should Mitch Johnson’s coaching be blamed?

28:04 2026 NBA Draft Preview with Joe Doerrer of StrictlyBbal

28:11 The 2025 Draft product quite an impressive list of young stars, will the 2026 Draft produce even better players?

29:31 Is AJ Dybantsa clearly the best prospect in this year’s draft?

31:01 Is there a good NBA comp for AJ Dybantsa?

32:16 How much of Darryn Peterson’s health is a concern to teams during the draft process?

34:16 How high is Joe on Cam Boozer at the next level?

36:24 What’s Caleb Wilson’s biggest strength & what kind of player will he be in the NBA?

38:24 Which player in this draft class will have the most immediate impact as a rookie?

39:26 Is there a player outside of the top 4 that could have a big impact right away?

40:33 Does Joe believe the point guard position is the strength of this year’s class?

42:06 What is the weakest position in this draft class?

43:09 Who is the best non-freshman in this draft class?

44:25 Who is the best shooter in this year’s draft?

45:09 With all this NIL money being thrown around, is the 2nd Round really like a 3rd Round?

47:01 Will Giannis be traded before draft night?

52:56 Joe shares what he’ll be doing on draft night

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0:00 ... Show open ... Ross welcomes everyone and introduces the panel.

0:34 ... Show #252 is dedicated to Luke Garza of the Celtics who wears uniform #52.

1:45 ... In Monday's game 3 of the NBA Finals things got spicy as the Spurs bounced back after losing the first 2 games at home and won game 3 on the road in New York.

2:51 ... Bruce felt the Spurs showed mental toughness and played with desperation in game 3 but Victor Wembanyama's nickname of "The Alien" rubs Bruce the wrong way.  Ross doesn't care much for the nickname either.

4:01 ... World B was impressed by the Spurs' effort in game 3, especially after playing poorly in the second quarter and looking like they might be on the ropes.

5:11 ... Ross felt Stephon Castle was huge in game 3 and cited some dagger shots that he hit.

6:03 ... Mike Brown complained about the officiating after game 3 and the crew discusses the benefits and negatives of Coach Brown calling out the refs.  Everyone had no issues with him doing it because it could pay off later in the series if it helps him get a key "either/or" call in a close game.

11:55 ... The guys discuss game 4 and which team is under more pressure to win.  There are reasons for both teams to feel it but Knicks fan "World B" feels his Knicks have more pressure on Wednesday night.

17:00 ... Is Jalen Brunson starting to wither under the pressure from the waves of Spurs defenders relentlessly pursuing him?  Perhaps Brunson needs to look for fewer of his own shots and get Karl-Anthony Towns more involved in the offense.

25:00 ... Which players have distinguished themselves the most during the first three games of the Finals?  So many have stepped up .... Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and OG Anunoby to name a few.

32:35 .... Game 4 predictions from everyone ... Bruce still likes the Spurs, World B loves his Knicks, and Ross breaks the tie with his prediction of ___________??

37:55 ... The crew pays tribute to former Chicago Bull Stacey King who passed away over the weekend at the age of 59.  World B worked with Stacey at ESPN in Charlotte and shares some stories of their time together.  King was also a longtime announcer of Bulls games where he made a lasting impression on Bulls Nation.

42:24 ... Ross wraps it up and says goodbye.

TRT 42:42

 

 

 

 

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