From NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Jake Fischer and Vincent Goodwill talk about the stories that have hung over the proceedings and about who they think will be the main characters of the next NBA season.

01:45 HOT JAKES

07:00 The main characters of the 2023-24 NBA season

07:30 Damian Lillard

12:30 Joel Embiid

18:30 LeBron James

21:00 Marcus Smart

25:30 Chris Paul

28:40 Kyrie Irving

32:50 Detroit Pistons

37:30 Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch

On their final day at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Jake Fischer and Vincent Goodwill talk about their least favorite parts of the city (the traffic!) and what the buzz around town has been this week.

They then try to predict who the “main characters” of the 2023-24 NBA season will be, based on where everything is right now. Obviously, where Damian Lillard is playing basketball will be a major talking point, but so will the legacy and reputation of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.

Marcus Smart is switching teams and filling a big leadership vacuum in Memphis, along with Derrick Rose. How will the young Grizzlies, and specifically Ja Morant, respond?

Chris Paul is joining a Warriors team that has, historically, hated him. He’s also going to be playing with bench units for the first time in his career. How will he handle that?

Kyrie Irving inked a new deal with the Dallas Mavericks, and Vince thinks Jason Kidd will use this to coach Kyrie harder than he did last season. Will the Mavs turn themselves into perennial contenders as a result?

Finally, Vince explains why adding Monty Williams isn’t immediately going to turn around the Detroit Pistons, although it is a good start.

In the second half of the episode, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, who has a few main characters on his roster as well, sits down with Jake Fischer to talk about what he sees in the future of his young squad and why he’s so excited for Anthony Edwards to play in the FIBA World Cup.

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