Oddball w/ Amin Elhassan & Izzy Gutierrez

The NBA preseason starts this week, but we have some big news in the NBA: Karl Anthony Towns is being traded to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Will Towns buy into the Knicks' culture? Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart comment on their new teammate at media day... while Thibodeau does not. And for the Timberwolves, does trading him away actually make the Timberwolves closer to a title? Amin argues it does. Before signing off, Amin and Charlotte pay tribute to Dikembe Mutombo who passed away this morning at 58. Heads up: starting today, Oddball is back with four shows a week Monday through Thursday.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The preseason starts next week, so it's media day with the Celtics. Jaylen Brown has a new look, and Jayson Tatum has a beef with Joe Mazzulla!? Who also says the most Joe Mazzulla thing he could say on media day. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is vague about Porzingis's injury even though Amin and Charlotte think the Celtics can win without him, and Luke Kornet is rambling about housing. To end it, we have Father Time joining us to discuss what he knows about the upcoming NBA season, involving Luka Doncic, Lebron James, Al Horford, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA season is weeks away, and we're oozing with excitement. Joel Embiid just signed a contract extension, and while both Amin and Charlotte think it's risky, they agree it could pay off. According to DraftKings, the Sixers are projected as the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum made some honest comments to the media, which Charlotte and Amin think may have backfired. Charlotte is also upset about Tatum’s new tattoo. On the WNBA side, A'ja Wilson was unanimously voted MVP, and Caitlin Clark took home Rookie of the Year honors. Finally, we play a blind ranking game to see if Charlotte and Amin can correctly rank NBA players by their social media followers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The expansion era has begun, and the first up is in Oregon, with the returning WNBA Portland Fire team. Next is rumors about the highly anticipated return of the Supersonics to Seattle. Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers team popped up at a WWE NXT event and played the bad guys well. Boban is retiring from the NBA, but not basketball. He'll be sharing his gifts with the Euroleague. Ben Simmons has been in the gym, but Amin isn't trying to hear anything about it. Charlotte and Amin commemorate "Talk like a Pirate Day" by, you guessed it, talking like pirates. The NBA also released their NBA City Edition Nike Jerseys that look... interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A'ja Wilson has been having a lot of success on the court and has become the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in the regular season, but Amin thinks the Aces are victims of their success. Jimmy Butler said he won't be signing an extension with the Heat, potentially making way for the Warriors to poach him. The Sphere had a breakout weekend for sports, but we're debating what basketball events should be there and whether it should be called The Sphere or Sphere. The Emmys were on Sunday, so Amin and Charlotte gave us their NBA show pitches for your consideration. Lastly, we finish on a fit check from basketball players in honor of fashion week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's debate season, so it's only right that Amin "Trump" Elhassan and Charlotte "Harris" Wilder go head-to-head in the first ever Oddball Debate for the title of "Talent-in-Chief." They are asked about a potential NBA expansion, The Celtics being respected, Joe Mazzulla's wacky quotes, Charles Barkley's potential free agency, Steph Fox Curry, and more. Afterward, Charlotte and Amin do a versus draft on who will likely be the 2025 MVP between contenders like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, and a whole slew of future Hall of Famers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back, and so is Jamal Murray after signing a $208M extension. Amin feels Murray and Jokic are yin and yang when it comes to playing together. Angel Reese, unfortunately, is out for the rest of the season with a wrist injury. That means Caitlin Clark is lock to win the Rookie of the Year award... but Amin thinks Clark had it locked before the injury. Paige Bueckers has a doppelganger because she was seen all over NYC this weekend and made it back in time for class. Aj'a Wilson is also injured, but that didn't stop the Liberty from beating the Aces. Ryan Hollins takes part in the Oddball Questionnaire. Lastly, we play a game of "2k Or Not 2k" and discuss the ratings for current NBA players on NBA 2K25. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most important part of the year is here, and that's NBA in September, not football. Apparently, Steph is a Red Sox fan because of his tenure in college, but does that make him a bandwagon fan? The Mayor of Miami ousted A'ja Wilson and Bam, but everyone secretly knew this was going on. The Philadelphia Sixers might be moving to New Jersey, but would that make them the New Jersey Sixers? Joe Mazzulla wants all the smoke in this upcoming season. In our segment of heat check, Charlotte and Amin rank the responses from current and former players like Dominique Wilkins and Paul George to Anthony Edwards' comments about NBA players in the 90's.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oddball is back with more razzmatazz than ever! Charlotte and Amin kick off the show with WNBA updates, focusing on the Las Vegas Aces' struggles after the Olympic break, despite A'ja Wilson's standout performances. They also dive into the drama surrounding Sheryl Swoopes leaking DMs between her and Caitlin Clark. After discussing Wright Thompson's profile on Clark, featured in a recent episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, they shift gears to the Celtics' offseason developments—leading Charlotte to plead with Boston players to stay off their phones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amin shares an interview with reporter and podcast host Ethan Strauss from Summer League to kick off the show. They discuss Ethan's "well-followed" Substack, House of Strauss, and counter-arguments to Tom Haberstroh's recent piece about falsified stats during the season Michael Jordan won Defensive Player of the Year. Amin and Charlotte close the show with a final round of Off-Court Olympic Games and hand medals to Tom Cruise, Nikola Jokic, and Devin Booker.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices