Tag / john collins

by Alex Fischbein

Kristaps Porzingis, Jordan Poole, John Collins, NBA Offseason | TAF277

On this week’s episode of The Atlantic Files, Kristaps Porzingis gets traded to the Boston Celtics while Marcus Smart is shipped to Memphis, Jordan Poole heads to Washington in exchange for Chris Paul joining the Warriors, John Collins is also on the move to Utah, there are tons of rumors flying around, the 2023 NBA Draft took place as Victor Wembanyama goes first overall, and more!

The Boston Celtics landed a big-time center in Kristaps Porzingis, but it took the heart and soul of their team to bring him in. Marcus Smart had to be shipped off to Memphis as the Grizzlies sent Tyus Jones over to the Washington Wizards in this three-team deal. Porzingis brings in a good amount of offense, but how limited will the defense be now that their former Defensive Player of the Year is gone?

In more trade news, John Collins is on his way to Utah for the puny price of Rudy Gay and a second-round pick. While Collins is set to make a decent bit of money, the fact that Atlanta had to make this deal says a lot about the skill level of Collins and how far he has fallen. Will he regain his former self with the Jazz?

In even more trade news, Jordan Poole finally escapes the bully that is Draymond Green. He’s on his way to Washington as Chris Paul heads to Golden State to join the splash brothers and maybe even Green if they can work out his contract. Now, Poole can lead his own backcourt along with Jones and try to lead the Wizards into relevance.

Finally, we give our thoughts and reactions to the 2023 NBA Draft. The top three picks went the way that everyone expected, but the rest of it was a little enticing. Especially Cam Whitmore dropping all the way to 20.

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Timecodes:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:11:47 John Collins traded for a bag of chips
00:29:13 Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, Marcus Smart To Memphis
00:48:20 Jordan Poole for Chris Paul trade
01:12:47 2023 NBA Draft reactions
01:30:00 Outro

Julius Randle, John Collins, Pro-Am, Drew League, New York Knicks, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Julius Randle needs to do more than lose pro-am games

Here we are again, talking about Julius Randle and the fact that New York Knicks fans are ready to part ways with him in any way possible. The rollercoaster ride continues as Julius Randle got booed and lost a Pro-Am game on the Knicks home turf.

Randle, Jalen Brunson, and Obi Toppin all played together in a New York City Pro-Am game a couple weeks back. They all put up around 20 points each, but gave up 40 points to two separate players of the other team. While Randle was putting up bricks from three, their team also took a big ol’ L in the process.

Once upon a time, Julius Randle was leading a Knicks team that was the talk of the league. They all of a sudden made the playoffs and even grabbed a win against a better Atlanta Hawks team. People in New York were rioting, calling Trae Young all sorts of names, and had hopes and dreams of a parade much sooner than previously expected.

Ever since then, it’s all been downhill and the Knicks regressed. Randle, himself, also regressed and has heard about it from every Knicks fan around the world.

Now with talks of a Donovan Mitchell trade, the cries to trade Randle have gotten louder and louder. We can’t say that we blame those fans because Mitchell is a much more dynamic star, but Randle needs to help himself at the same time.

Playing in Pro-Am games can be a lose-lose situation, but at least go out there and beat the lesser competition!

Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Sean Marks, Joe Tsai, Brooklyn Nets, Atlantic Files, Podcast
by Alex Fischbein

Kevin Durant issues an ultimatum to Brooklyn Nets | The Atlantic Files Ep238

On this week’s episode of The Atlantic Files, Kevin Durant issued an ultimatum to Joe Tsai and the Brooklyn Nets, tampering investigations are underway for the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero have beef, players standing out in pro-am’s and workouts, and we talk about our 30-team fantasy basketball league!

Another chapter in the Kevin Durant and Brooklyn Nets saga is being written before our eyes. Durant met with Nets Owner, Joe Tsai, and issued an ultimatum. He said he has to fire Steve Nash and Sean Marks if they want to keep him. The same guy that vouched for Nash in the first place now wants him fired otherwise he still wants to be traded. He really wants to make sure his legacy goes further into the dumpster now.

We joked around a few weeks back when there were tampering rumors for the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, but now these tampering investigations are actually happening. Jalen Brunson and PJ Tucker are the two signings mainly being investigated, but if only second-round picks are the only things up for grabs as punishment, then why even carry out this whole investigation? It’s all pointless in this day and age.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero are in a full-blown beef. There seem to be some background parts of it that no one has heard or seen, but it blew up at a Seattle Pro-Am game and now Atlanta Hawks versus Orlando Magic games just got that much more entertaining. Everyone talked about the NBA being soft, now we got an up-and-coming player going right at a rookie, and people are calling him crazy. Let’s bring beef back!

Finally, Alex and Dennis are in a 30-team fantasy basketball league. It’s very involved with salary caps, and auction drafts, and it’s also a dynasty league on top of everything! They give their initial thoughts on the league and show their teams as well.

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro
00:06:10 John Collins, Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, poor showings in Pro-Ams
00:19:24 Kevin Durant gives Joe Tsai & Brooklyn Nets an ultimatum
00:33:32 Tampering investigations started on New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers
00:41:29 Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero already have beef!
00:48:04 30-team fantasy basketball league thoughts
01:08:49 Answering viewers questions about Kyrie Irving and the Nets
01:16:40 Outro

Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, trade, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant is dumb | The Atlantic Files Ep237

This week on the Atlantic Files podcast, we talk about the rumors surrounding a trade between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets that would swap Jaylen Brown and Kevin Durant, whether or not Miles Bridges will play in the NBA ever again, Jerry West vs JJ Redick, Collin Sexton not getting any free agency attention, and John Collins fouling out of the Drew League!

The latest rumor around the NBA is that the Boston Celtics offered a package of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and other assets to the Nets for Kevin Durant. Brown took to Twitter to voice his displeasure about the rumor. If Boston is really contemplating a deal like this, they are flat-out dumb. A team who just reached the NBA Finals and had a fighting chance to win the Finals does not need to be blown up just for one player. Don’t get too carried away Brad Stevens.

In other news, one of Mike’s previous favorite players fouled out and lost in the Drew League. That’s none other than John Collins. We’ve had debates about Collins against Julius Randle in the past, but Collins keeps proving he’s not worth the contract.

Speaking of worth the money, Collin Sexton seems to be a player that should be worth a medium-sized contract. The fact that he got pretty much zero buzz in free agency was quite mind-boggling. Whether it was either rumors of a sign-and-trade or just other teams offering a contract in general, we didn’t hear a single thing. Wonder how he’ll end up proving himself again in Cleveland next season.

Miles Bridges, which we’ve talked about in the past episode, has officially been brought up on charges. So, we took this time to ponder whether or not he’ll play another game in the NBA.

Finally, there has been some beef between JJ Redick and Jerry West. Redick hit a soft spot when he said basketball was just a bunch of “plumbers and firefighters” back in the day. West is firing back, saying Redick didn’t even have a great career and couldn’t hold a candle to players like himself. This one is fun!

Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
01:12 Boston Celtics should not trade Jaylen Brown
04:49 Talent gap between Jaylen Brown and Devin Booker
06:56 Why Boston would be dumb to get Kevin Durant
19:17 Is the East stronger than the West in 2022-23?
20:46 John Collins fouls out and loses in Drew League
26:51 Will Miles Bridges ever play in the NBA again?
28:26 Collin Sexton not getting any free-agency buzz
33:16 JJ Redick and Jerry West beef
38:34 Closing thoughts

Julius Randle, New York Knicks
by Alex Fischbein

What’s up with Julius Randle | The Atlantic Files Ep210

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Klay Thompson finally returns to the floor, Tobias Harris is now on the block, Julius Randle is feeling the heat in his seat, Joel Embiid is back to his MVP level of play, the Atlanta Hawks are shopping John Collins, and the Memphis Grizzlies are going nuts!

First things first, we wanted to give the shout-out to Klay Thompson on finally returning from his slew of major injuries. Rehabbing from back-to-back injuries of that magnitude is no minor feat. Now, the Golden State Warriors look like they’re going to be big-time favorites to win the Western Conference and even could be NBA Finals favorites on top of that.

Then, there are the more surprising things to take place this season. The Memphis Grizzlies are all of a sudden near the top of the West and Kyle Kuzma has been playing out of his mind. This drove us to the question of which of these two things are the most surprising? Did anyone see the Grizzlies being this good or did they see Kuzma improving as much as he’s showing lately?

Going to the Atlantic, finally. Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in all of the rumor mills and on all of the news sites for more trade talks. This time, they’re actually trying to package Tobias Harris with Ben Simmons in trades. Yes, they’re putting together $80M worth of contracts together and trying to get something out of it. Harris has been a name on this podcast that has been thrown in trades already, but which team is actually willing to take on that contract?

This all brings us to our main topic of Julius Randle. Last season now looks like a very distant memory due to the lack of effort, lack of production, and all-around bad play this year. The Knicks are nowhere near the level that everyone expected after last season, and they could be in danger of only making a play-in tournament spot or even missing the playoffs. Julius Randle was in the highest of graces with the Knicks fans and all of a sudden that came crashing down as he had to tell them to shut up and cursed at them along the way.

Finally, there was another prominent Eastern team working the trade phones. The Atlanta Hawks are now shopping John Collins and they’ve even been linked to the Sixers. At this point, who knows what kind of craziness will go down before the trade deadline.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:34 – Klay Thompson returns!
5:03 – Memphis Grizzlies vs Kyle Kuzma, who’s more surprising?
15:06 – Tobias Harris on the Philadelphia 76ers trade block
25:27 – Joel Embiid back to MVP numbers
31:06 – John Collins is on the block for Atlanta Hawks
37:04 – Julius Randle stinking and New York Knicks fans are fed up