Vincent Goodwill is first joined by one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, George “The Iceman” Gervin, to talk about his upcoming biography before being joined by Jake Fischer to discuss the players in Level 2 of our NBA Levels project.00:00 - Introduction01:30 - The Iceman, George Gervin23:20 - NBA Levels: Level 224:30 - Joel Embiid27:40 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander30:20 - LeBron James32:40 - Jimmy Butler36:30 - Kawhi LeonardWith one week left until the start of the NBA season, Vincent Goodwill is joined by two guests on this episode of The Good Word. First up is George “The Iceman” Gervin, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, who has a biography coming out and spends time talking with Vince about the ABA’s influence on the modern NBA and his desire to see retired NBA players become mentors for the current crop of young players. They also talked about why he made the decision not to join the Showtime Lakers and why he doesn’t regret that decision at all.Next, Yahoo’s own Jake Fischer joins the show to run through the players that landed in Level 2 (“Robin Cosplaying as Batman”) in our NBA Levels project. Find out why Joel Embiid and LeBron James are not ranked higher, and why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may not be done climbing up the levels of NBA players.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

On this episode of No Cap Room, Jake Fischer and Dan Devine give you their thoughts from the Thunder/Spurs preseason game that saw rookies Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama take each other on before revealing their lists of the 10 most interesting players in the Eastern Conference heading into the season.The guys kick off the show with Dan telling the story of his camping trip, the same one he previewed in last week’s episode, because it explains why he wasn’t able to watch the exciting preseason game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs live.While it was just a preseason game, there was a lot to take away from the first matchup between this year’s #1 overall draft pick (Victor Wembanyama) and last year’s #2 overall draft pick (Chet Holmgren). While both players are still very raw, Jake and Dan agree that they are a sign of the NBA’s evolution and a preview of the NBA’s future.Both Jake and Dan were tasked with picking their 5 most interesting players in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2023-24 NBA season, leaving us with a list of 10 players (and one head coach) to talk about as a way to preview the upcoming regular season, which is just two weeks away.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Vincent Goodwill sits down with Dan Titus for a quick preview of the fantasy basketball landscape before fantasy managers head into their drafts. Then, Dan Devine joins the show to discuss Level 3 in Yahoo Sports’ “NBA Levels” project.00:00 - Introduction01:25 - Old faces, new places15:05 - Fantasy sleepers18:20 - The Skinny Bowl20:15 - Rookies to target24:15 - NBA Levels - Level 3On this episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vincent Goodwill welcomes our fantasy basketball guru (Dan Titus) onto the show to answer some questions during draft season for fantasy basketball managers.How much does it change a player’s value to be switching teams and environments? We dig into what fantasy expectations there are this season for Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal.Does Dan have any fantasy sleepers he is willing to share with us? Thankfully, yes! Including one player heading into free agency next offseason and another one that just got paid a bunch of money to avoid free agency.Vince and Dan discuss “The Skinny Bowl”, which is our name for much heralded matchup between Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, and Dan tells us which guy he prefers in fantasy (along with a handful of other rookies that he is willing to take a shot on this season).Finally, we get to “Level 3” in our NBA Levels project. The Yahoo Sports staff voted their top 40 NBA players into 4 distinct tiers, with Level 3 being the supporting character. These are All-NBA caliber players that are not good enough to win a championship as a team’s best player, but the type of player that is on almost every championship squad. Find out who made the lists of Vince Goodwill and Dan Devine, and what factored into their voting process.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Jake Fischer and Dan Devine go through all of the NBA news of the day, including Joel Embiid joining Team USA and James Harden reporting to 76ers training camp, before playing a game and digging through preseason odds.00:00 - Camping banter04:10 - James Harden reports to 76ers camp08:05 - Joel Embiid joins Team USA for 2024 Olympics16:00 - Spurs sign Devin Vassell to 5 yr/$146M extension23:40 - Over/under game49:25 - Fun with NBA preseason oddsOn this episode of No Cap Room, we quickly find out that Dan Devine has never been camping, a streak that will end in just a matter of days.Speaking of reporting to camp, James Harden has traveled to Colorado to report to Philadelphia 76ers camp. Is there a chance for reconciliation between the disgruntled star and the team’s from office?Joel Embiid spent the last few months deciding between joining the olympic basketball team for USA or France for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This morning, he announced that he will be joining Team USA, filling a major weakness that the team had trouble with at the FIBA World Cup this offseason.The San Antonio Spurs signed young wing Devin Vassal to a contract extension worth up to $146 million over 5 years. Before to gawk at the price tag, let Jake and Dan tell you why it was a great move for the Spurs with a good chance of becoming a value contract soon.The NBA preseason kicked off today in Abu Dhabi, so the guys decided to come up with some fake over/under and pick their sides as a way to preview the upcoming season. They also dug through the preseason MVP odds, as well as the preseason championship odds, and wondered if there was another 2022-23 Denver Nuggets team or another player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that could surprise the league this year.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Vincent Goodwill breaks down the trade that sent Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics over the weekend, discusses the end of superstar free agency and the myth of player empowerment, and is then joined by Jake Fischer to discuss level 4 of our NBA Levels project.00:00 - Jrue Holiday traded to the Celtics05:30 - The end of superstar free agency / The myth of player empowerment32:00 - NBA Levels - Level 4Vincent Goodwill opens up this episode of Good Word with Goodwill from his hotel room in Milwaukee, where he is reacting to Sunday’s trade that sent Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are seemingly going all-in on this upcoming season, and the Blazers GM is seemingly being very petty in sending his best players to the rivals of the Miami Heat, and Vince loves to see both of those things happening.Damian Lillard’s trade from Portland to the Milwaukee Bucks seems like an inflection point in both superstar free agency and player empowerment, of lack there of. Vince goes through the history of superstar free agency, pointing to how LeBron James and Kevin Durant have handled it in the past, and then explains why it can never happen like that again under the current CBA. Is it good for the game? Is it bad for the game? That’s probably for fans to decide on their own.Finally, Jake Fischer joins Vince to go through level 4 of Yahoo Sports’ NBA Levels project. This level is for specialists that could be the final piece added to a championship contender, and it is certainly filled with players that almost every NBA team would love to add to their roster.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Jake Fischer and Dan Devine go deep into the Damian Lillard trade to find out why the Blazers didn’t want to send him to Miami, which teams are vying for Jrue Holiday, and whether the Suns got better or worse.01:20 - Damian Lillard traded to the Milwaukee Bucks15:45 - Toronto Raptors22:00 - Jrue Holiday trade sweepstakes32:10 - Portland Trail Blazers44:30 - Phoenix SunsOn this episode of No Cap Room, Jake and Dan go deep to find out how the 3-team trade that landed Damian Lillard on the Milwaukee Bucks came together and why the Portland Trail Blazers refused to trade him to the Miami Heat, going so far as to stop communication with Lillard and his agent while they shopped him around the league.The guys also discuss those Toronto Raptors rumors that popped up a few days before the trade, saying that they were real, but explaining why that trade was very unlikely to happen.Jrue Holiday is now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll stay there for long. Just about every team in the NBA will be calling them to try and make a deal, but Jake has an idea of a three-team trade between the Blazers, Clippers and 76ers that could be a slam dunk for all three teams.The Portland Trail Blazers will certainly look a lot different next season. Dan explains why DeAndre Ayton will get a new role in Portland and why he still has some reservations about how the talent on this team fits.The Phoenix Suns didn’t necessarily get better in this deal, but there’s a sense that they like the fit of Jusuf Nurkic better than what they had in DeAndre Ayton. Dan and Jake talk through that fit and Jake explains why the Suns could also be in the mix to add Jrue Holiday.🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTubeCheck out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Vincent Goodwill is joined by Dan Devine for a quick reaction to the 3-team trade that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers (along with DeAndre Ayton), and Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen to the Phoenix Suns.The guys talk about how Giannis Antetokounmpo’s statements over the offseason, where he said that he would only stay in Milwaukee if the team was a title contender, made this trade happen and explain the difference between player empowerment (Jrue Holiday getting traded a day after saying he wants to be in Milwaukee for the rest of his career) and superstar empowerment.Meanwhile, the Miami Heat spent their offseason waiting for their trade for Damian Lillard to go through. What the heck do they do now that the Bucks swooped in and stole their prized offseason target?There is going to be a ton of pressure and expectations on the Milwaukee Bucks, who have a first-year head coach in Adrian Griffin, to win the Eastern Conference Finals this year. Who else in the east could possibly challenge them?Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

In the first solo episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vincent Goodwill talks through loyalty in the modern NBA, specifically as it relates to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.Before signing with the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder on the day of LeBron James’ “Decision” and was labeled the “loyal superstar” for a few years before leaving OKC for California. Since then, the “loyal superstar” label has been given to Giannis.Nearing 30 years old, Giannis is starting to think of himself as an older player and also starting to worry about his legacy and how much time he has left as a championship-level player.The Milwaukee Bucks recently saw an ownership change, which isn’t typical of a championship-level team with a superstar-level player. Are there already concerns in Milwaukee that Giannis is going to leave? Should they consider trading him before he hits free agency?If Giannis were to end up with another franchise, Vinnie wonders if the next “loyal superstar” that everyone will start circling around is Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Jake Fischer is back from Manila and he rejoins Dan Devine in Brooklyn to talk about the NBA passing a new rule to prevent teams from resting their stars, the results from the FIBA World Cup and LeBron James trying to recruit a team of superstars to go to the Olympics in 2024.00:00 HELLO FRIENDS02:15 New NBA rules on resting players12:50 FIBA World Cup recap32:10 LeBron & friends headed to the Olympics?On this episode of No Cap Room, Jake returns from Manila with a cold (but without sleeves) to talk with Dan about everything that has happened around the NBA in the last week.They start with some breaking news, that the NBA’s Competition Committee voted to create new rules that penalize teams for resting too many superstar players. Dan points out that there are exceptions that make it pretty easy for superstar players to continue to rest, but this system will make the NBA more palatable for gamblers.Jake and Dan also talk their way through the FIBA World Cup, including what Team USA can learn from Germany (who won gold) and how Canada’s performance (they won bronze) is a sign of good things to come for both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks.Finally, after Team USA failed to medal at the FIBA World Cup, LeBron James announced that he wanted to return to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in France. He also announced that he had reached out to Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and many other veteran superstars in an attempt to recruit them to join him. Will that be enough for USA to continue to take home gold in the Olympics or has this group of stars aged outCheck out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Marc Spears, Senior NBA Writer for ESPN and Andscape, joins Vincent Goodwill for a fun conversation about Ben Simmons’ physical and mental well-being, Marc’s show on Hulu and Chris Paul’s challenges in fitting in with the Golden State Warriors.00:00 - Welcome, Marc Spears!04:50 - Ben Simmons18:40 - The Conversations Project38:00 - Chris Paul & the WarriorsOn this episode of Good Word with Goodwill, Vincent Goodwill is joined by Senior NBA Writer for ESPN and Andscape, Marc Spears. After a brief conversation about the G-League Ignite, who are loaded with prospects that could end up in the lottery of next year’s NBA Draft, the guys discuss the topic of Marc’s latest article for Andscape: Ben Simmons. The former #1 overall pick, and three-time NBA All-Star, Simmons has moved his offseason home and changed his workout routines, with positive results. Simmons looks, feels and sounds like the player he was before having back surgery, but can he overcome his mental hurdles?Marc recently launched The Conversations Project, a TV show centered around black people having intelligent conversation while eating their way through a three-course meal. He talks about how the show came to be and what his hopes are with it going forward.Finally, being a Bay Area guy, Marc gets grilled by Vince on the Chris Paul experiment on the Golden State Warriors. Will he start? Will he be able to take a backseat to the established veterans that have won multiple titles without him? Or will the egos be too much for the team to handle?Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts