Takes

LeBron James won't retire because he's addicted to the attention of basketball

I don't think he is [retiring]. I think he's gonna have a really, really hard time being away from the attention of basketball... He's still incredibly productive offensively... I still think there's far more positive about him, the player, but it just depends like what are you looking for next year?

Giannis Antetokounmpo will never be traded

Giannis is never going to get traded. Everyone's hair's on fire, everyone's panicking and nothing ever happens. Giannis is never going to get traded.

Scotty Barnes will have more points than Rashid Shaheed has receiving yards

Scotty Barnes will have more points than Rashid Shaheed has receiving yards.

The Celtics trading Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic is a sign that Jayson Tatum is returning

I like this trade. I was happy with this trade. Well V[ucevic]—it also means Jayson Tatum's coming back... because if Tatum comes back, those are minutes like Simons has been playing, but if [Tatum] comes back, those minutes are gone.

Giannis Antetokounmpo might be traded to the Chicago Bulls this week

Second [favorite to land Giannis] is Chicago Bulls at plus three ten... the rumors of him to the Bulls have always kind of been there being like, he loves Milwaukee so much that he's not gonna leave living in Milwaukee and commute. Which he could do, but it would be the most ridiculous thing ever.

LeBron may have played his last game in Cleveland - his body is finally catching up to him

I think he might be coming to the end here. It feels like his body is finally caught up to him. So this might be last time in Cleveland.

LeBron James will announce his retirement at the All-Star Game

He's gonna announce he's retiring at the All-Star game. They're gonna rig it so that he can win the all-star MVP. It's in LA. And then he's gonna say, I'm retiring.

Trey Young will be traded from the Atlanta Hawks in a mutual parting of ways

My Hot Seat is Trey Young. Because it looks like he is asking, demanding to be traded from the Atlanta Hawks and the Hawks are also trying to trade him. So I guess this is like a mutual parting of ways.

The Anthony Davis to the Lakers trade will be seen as a win-win in ten years

Rob Pelinka texted Nico Harrison and said something like, man, I I I would do it again because I I really think we both won... It was a good trade. In 10 years, they will be singing your praises.

The NBA gambling scandal is going to get much bigger with more players involved

My big takeaway after the deep dive earlier today and listened to a couple press conferences is that I think this just gets bigger. I think there's gonna be a lot more guys in the coming days announced to be a part of this thing not looking good whatsoever.

The Denver Nuggets will win the NBA title this year

I'm picking the Denver Nuggets. There's no reason to pick against OKC... they're just going to be better... I just wanted—I picked him last year, I wanna do something a little different this year. So I'm picking the Denver Nuggets.

LeBron James will not retire until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

I was talking to [Mark] Titus about it... he was saying that he doesn't think LeBron's gonna retire till 2028 when the Olympics are in LA. That's so much more LeBron. ... He will, that will be the last basketball. He plays the Olympics in 2028.

Paige Bueckers will break all of Caitlin Clark's WNBA rookie records

She's gonna break all of Caitlin Clark's rookie records and I think she's a better team player than Caitlin Clark.

LeBron James and Chris Paul will have a 'retirement off' to ensure they don't retire in the same year

I don't think LeBron wants to retire the same time as Chris Paul. I think they might. I think it might be a retirement off... It's gonna be like, who's gonna retire first? The other person stay an extra year just 'cause they didn't wanna retire the same year as that guy.

There is a better chance of Terry McLaurin playing for the Patriots than Ben Simmons playing for the Celtics

I trust Brad Stevens. I don't think this is gonna happen. I think there's a better chance Terry McLaurin plays for the Patriots than Ben Simmons plays with the Celtics.

The Philadelphia 76ers will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals

I have a new preemptive take. This is a hot take. All right. The Philadelphia 76ers will make it to the Eastern Conference finals. Whoa. Now that is that not crazy? That's, I mean we just, here it is. That Joel and the opposite of chalk.

Nikola Jokic will force a trade from Denver to the Chicago Bulls because of the large Serbian population in Chicago

I think Nikola Jokic is gonna force a trade out of Denver at the end of the season to the Chicago Bulls. Whoa. Number one Serbia population in America. Wow. That's just a wild one.

Joel Embiid will win the NBA MVP award next season

I will be saying that Joel Embiid will be winning the MVP. I'm going back to my original idea. It's like when you're in school and you're taking a test, you only gotta go with your gut. And my gut said that Joel Embiid is gonna win MVP this year. And I'm sticking with Joel Embiid will win the MVP.

LeBron James will not be playing for the Lakers next season

I don't think LeBron's playing for the Lakers next year... It also makes sense because they have [Anthony Davis], they have to start building the team around [him]. LeBron deserves any way that he wants to go out because of what he's done... but if you're the Lakers, you can't just let him like hold you hostage for the last couple years of his career.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will keep drafting role players and only pay their three stars

I think what [the Thunder's] plan is, and it might work, is that they have so many draft picks. They'll just keep drafting and not paying those guys and then pay their three guys. And hope the role players like, hey, you're gonna, you're gonna play well if you get drafted, get paid very little money. But you get to play with three really good players.

Klay Thompson playing with Luka Doncic will be like Lob City

I will say this about Klay Thompson. It does feel like if it doesn't work with Luca, he's gonna be in a i, I don't know what, where it would work, because that's just Lob City form.

The Philadelphia 76ers will win the 2026 NBA Finals

I'm gonna match and double. I'm gonna say they're gonna win the finals. They're gonna win a chip. Love it.

LeBron James is actively trying to work his way back to the Cleveland Cavaliers

I don't know, is LeBron, is he trying to work his way back to Cleveland? I think that would be good. Yeah. I would like to see it... he's doing this on purpose to get everyone talking about it and then he's gonna do it. I think he's gonna do it.

The Houston Rockets are going to be awesome this season

The rockets are gonna be really good. I know that you don't win championships July 1st. The rockets are gonna be awesome. I'm a big, I think the Rockets are gonna be awesome. They basically have three centers now and they added Kevin Durant and I'm a Rockets believer.

Kevin Durant will win the title and secure a legacy year with the Rockets

I think KD's got a little fuck you going tour coming. I think he's got one more of those in him. And I think this might be the year... I think this might be a KD legacy year. I think he might win it all and then be like, now this one counts.

Cooper Flagg could make close to a billion dollars in the NBA by age 32

If everything goes well for [Cooper Flagg] and he signs all of his extensions and everything... he could make close to a billion dollars in the NBA by age 32. He has a $62 million rookie deal... then he'd get the 30% supermax, which would be $359 million. And then he would get the 35% supermax, which would be $509 million.

The Duke trio of Flagg, Knueppel, and Maluach are all special NBA prospects

I like all three guys a lot. [Cooper] Flagg... anticipation, the defense, I mean it just, his passing all this stuff is that he's a, he's a real competitor... [Kon] Knueppel iss like he's, he's gonna be very good pro... [Khaman] Maluach... he stays in front of [guards] by moving his feet... Those three guys are really special prospects.

This 2025 Thunder team is the worst version we will see during their upcoming dynasty

This is the worst Oklahoma City Thunder team that will win a championship during this dynasty run. They had to go to seven against the Nuggets. They had to go to seven against the Pacers. I don't expect that to happen ever again for them.

Kevin Durant to the Rockets is a great fit because they finally have a go-to scorer

Great fit. Rockets are gonna be very good. They needed a go-to scorer. Kevin Durant is still a go-to scorer. ... I think that's the team he can go to... it's a young enough team that he can be like, yeah, they needed Kevin Durant.

The Pacers will win Game 6 at home to force a Game 7

I think the Pacers are gonna figure out how to win one at home. I don't know how, I think maybe we get a TJ McConnell game. I think we just send him out there and we're like, we're gonna empty TJ's personal tank on this one... I have no reason to believe that they're gonna win game six, but I somehow do.

The Pacers-Thunder series is officially over for Indiana

I'm pretty sure... that was their game to lose. And they did. And now I feel like the series is over. Like, yeah, the Pacers have been winning the series and it's tied and... the Thunder know they're the better team and they can just step on their throat.

The Knicks are going to hire Rick Brunson as their head coach

There's a theory that they're crossing all these names off. They're gonna ask everybody get denied and then they're gonna go back with a Rick Brunson being the coach. That's a theory I saw out there.

The Thunder will still win the NBA Finals despite being down 2-1

I'm gonna go Oklahoma City still. I'm gonna stick with my original prediction. I'm not gonna change after a two-one lead. I'm gonna say Oklahoma City. They, they, they, they gotta win game four and it's a three game series and two of 'em are home for them.

The Thunder will beat the Pacers 4-2 in the Finals

I think I'm gonna stay with four, two Thunder.

The Thunder will beat the Pacers in five games

Hank you think it's it's over. Yeah. Five games. You're already calling it over.

The Indiana Pacers will win one home game in the NBA Finals

I'm gonna say the Pacers are gonna win one at home. They're gonna win one of game three or four. And if I'm wrong, who cares?

Victor Wembanyama will kill everyone next season after training as a monk

I do feel like this is gonna be [Wembanyama] fucks everybody up next season because he's Yeah. He's figured out like secret ancient martial arts.

Kevin Durant might be traded by the Suns this offseason.

I don't know, I feel like the seeds have been planted... I thought last year he was, there was a lot of stuff right. A lot of stuff around the draft. There was like rumors about Houston... I feel like the seeds have been planted.

The 2025 Thunder will eventually be seen as the worst version of their championship dynasty.

This is gonna be the worst thunder team to win an championship because you're gonna get so much better over the course of the next couple seasons with their draft picks. This is actually a down year for the Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA Finals in five games.

Thunder in five. I played, I think it was plus six 80 Thunder Games one and two, Pacers Game three, thunder game four and five.

LeBron James will announce that next season is his final year during the NBA Finals

I think there is going to be an announcement... this will be LeBron James last year. And he's gonna make us suffer through an entire year long thing. He might even do it during the NBA finals. I actually wouldn't be shocked if he does it during the NBA finals.

OKC will win the NBA title

If I were to, you know, guess... I'm going with OKC.

The Thunder, Timberwolves, and Nuggets title windows will stay open through the end of the decade

Shea is like 26. Jalen Williams is the third season, Chet, this is technically his third season, but he's only played two seasons. I could see these three guys, us talking about these three guys in playoff games like this for the rest of the decade.

The Timberwolves will likely be forced to break up their core roster next season due to the salary cap

I don't think they can keep this team together. The core, the big piece is they can, but, so Julius Randall's a free agent, Nick Alexander-Walker is a free agent, and Naz Reed is a free agent. He has an opt out, which I'm sure he is gonna take. I would be surprised if they were able to re-sign all three guys.

LeBron James will not take a pay cut on his next contract with the Lakers

I do not think it's in the cards that he's taking less money. It's not that necessarily he wants every dime, although he does want every dime. I don't think he believes that free agency is got anybody in it where if he takes less money that the Lakers could go use their mid-level and like have a transformational player. The intention is for him to continue to make all of the max which he has earned.

The 2024 Thunder might be the worst version of the team we see for the next five years

You could make the case that this might be the worst Thunder team that we're gonna see in the next five years. If the thunder can win with this roster, imagine what they're gonna do.

Minnesota will win the championship because Anthony Edwards has the 'sauce'

If I had to pick right now, I would say Minnesota Timberwolves win it all. Why right now? It is the aura of [Anthony Edwards]. It's the way that the aura of that young man, the way that it filters into everyone that he's playing with.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA title

Today is Wednesday, May 21st and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to win the NBA title. ... Oklahoma City's defense is very fucking good. They're elite. Yes. They pack the paint so well. They make you take threes. ... I think they're the best team.

Anthony Edwards will score 50 points in a game during the Western Conference Finals

I'm gonna say it right now. 50 Burger coming for Anthony Edwards in this series [WCF]. Feels I'm excited.

Luka Doncic will come back in elite shape next season due to the conditioning criticism

I think you're gonna see a different Luka. I do. I think you're gonna see Luka... I think he comes back in elite shape next year.