NBA Draft Dreams and Delusions

The Draft is over and we have a lot to recap on Oddball. Amin and Izzy discuss their favorite non-Cooper Flagg picks, VJ Edgecombe and Khaman Malucach. The Phonenix Suns traded for Mark Williams, and now have three centers from North Carolina. The Pelicans traded an unprotected first pick for Derick Queen. Is he just a worse version of Zion Williamson?. Plus, The Houston Rockets, The Utah Jazz and Jordan Poole all make this weeks edition of Headlines.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA Draft is here! Shams Charania predicts this will be the craziest offseason, so we're breaking out another gradient grid. We rank the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs, the Philadelphia Sixers, and the OKC Thunder in terms of inactive or active and care or don’t care. What will Cooper Flagg's instant impact be in Dallas? Will the Spurs speed up their timeline with De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama, or slow it down with Dylan Harper? The Sixers are a tire fire, but we're locked in to watch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have a lot of young guys, so if they do not win in this window, at least the window to win will be bigger. Jalen Green is not that guy right now, trading him was the right decision. The Miami Heat were finalists in the KD trade, but with Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic declared untouchables, was Miami really serious about this trade or were they appeasing their fan base? Plus, which teams in the East are going to see this season as a chance to go all in? Will Pistons be able to replicate OKC's success with Cade Cunningham instead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? The Hawks have Trae Young, but will he stay in Atlanta? The Milwaukee Bucks need a co-star for Giannis Antetokounmpo... should they go after Jalen Green? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The OKC Thunder are your 2024-2025 NBA Champions! But before we crown this young OKC squad, we've got to discuss Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tear that took him out just 7 minutes into Game 7. Will this be the injury that convinces teams to sit players with calf injuries? Obi Toppin, who scored zero points, vulnerably admitted Hali’s injury kept him distracted. Pascal Siakam was a ghost out there and the coaches were shell shocked. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stabilized his side and etched his name in the history books. For OKC, learning as they went along was not just limited to basketball, they also learned how to pop champagne correctly! Plus, the final Iciest Play of the season, and our first offseason edition of Headlines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Game. Seven. The Pacers dominated Game 6 in Indiana, and now the NBA Finals will be decided by a winner-take-all showdown in Oklahoma City on Sunday night. Izzy is joined by Producer to break down how we got here, and the biggest question... what happens next? Plus, Headlines! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michelle Beadle joins Amin and Izzy to discuss Kevin Durant trade rumors. KD wants to go to the San Antonio Spurs, but are they going to meet the Suns' asking price? KD might want the New York Knicks, but the Knicks don’t want him. KD needs coaching stability, could Houston be the answer? And with all these questions, we have to ask, do you trust Durant to pick the best spot for himself? Also, Victor Wembanyama is training with the Shaolin monks, and Michelle Beadle weighs in on the Knicks coaching chaos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michelle Beadle joins Oddball! Amin, Izzy, and Beadle all realized their ESPN logins still work so they were able to see every topic and graphic planned for First Take during the offseason. It wouldn't be First Take without a Stephen A. Smith mention, a Lebron Legacy question, and a Cowboys appearance. Is Wemby-Flagg the new Magic-Bird? Could Superman compete in 90's NBA? Should Stephen A be Knicks coach or President? All the most important debates will be tackled this summer, but we've got the answers now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder took Game 5 and now lead the series 3-2. With 40 points, Amin's Jalen Williams made a big splash. Meanwhile, Haliburton made zero field goals and his calf injury is a huge detriment to the Pacers’ Finals run. Who was that star in the third quarter? God disguised as Michael Jordan disguised as TJ McConnell, that’s who! Can he do a good enough Haliburton impression for the Pacers to win Game 6? Plus, we discuss broadcasting the starting lineup intros, Desmond Bane traded to the Orlando Magic, and the Iciest Play of the Week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Indiana Pacers are up 2-1 in the NBA Finals, but are we actually ready for a world where the Pacers are champs? The Pacers defense locked up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and embarrassed Chet Holmgren. Bennedict Mathurin and TJ McConnell made the most of their minutes, while Caitlin Clark hit the Reggie Miller choke! With a star performance last night, could Tyrese Haliburton be at the beginning of a Tom Brady run? Plus, the Knicks steal the Finals spotlight with their chaotic coach search, while Cousins goes off and Giannis calls out the media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tonight is Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the Pacers need to pull out all the stops... But what are "all the stops" in Indiana? Are any Hoosiers legends going to show up? Izzy lays out his recipe for the Pacers to defend home court, and it starts with *racecar noises.* The Pacers need to punish the Thunder for being overzealous, and Tyrese Haliburton needs to start scoring before the final ten seconds of the game. Oh, and Victor Wembanyama is a monk now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices