Sean is joined by Nick Walas—host of Words With Walas—to discuss the Trae Young trade to Washington, touching on the Wizards side of the deal (1:53), the Hawks side of the deal (11:10), and then raising an existential question about how the CBA has affected trade value for star players (15:27). Then, Sean and Nick pick teams for some mid-season superlatives, including:

• Biggest Surprise (20:48)
• The One-Piece-Away Team (35:06)
• Biggest Dark Horse Contender (48:35)
• Most Obvious Blow-It-Up Team (59:38)
• Biggest Disappointment (1:13:24)
• Best Ahead-of-Schedule Ascension (1:30:49)
• Most At-a-Cross-Roads Team (1:43:59)

Let's play another edition of my annual game called Sample Size Roulette, where I answer whether or not the sample size is big enough to say that... the Hawks are better off without Trae Young (0:47), the Mavs should blow it up and trade AD (11:03), the Magic are closer to a play-in team than an East contender (21:45), the Rockets don’t need to add a guard this year (29:48), the Pistons should be co-favorites in the East (40:57), the Thunder could break the 73-win record (51:01), the Clippers are not a playoff team (57:21), Joel Embiid is completely washed (1:05:11), the Suns are a playoff contender (1:13:40), and Wemby could win MVP this season (1:23:47).

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the sixth episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing the following tiers:

Tier 2: Playing for Second Place

4) Cleveland Cavaliers (1:51)

3) New York Knicks (14:17)

Tier 1: Deserving Favorites

2) Denver Nuggets (27:52)

1) Oklahoma City Thunder (39:22)

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the fifth episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing the following tiers:

Tier 4: Too Old, Too Injury Prone

10) Los Angeles Clippers (1:52)

9) Golden State Warriors (14:17)

Tier 3: Lurking, With Some Luck

8) Orlando Magic (25:46)

7) Houston Rockets (36:17)

6) Minnesota Timberwolves (46:51)

5) Los Angeles Lakers (55:23)

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the fourth episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing the following tiers:

Tier 6: Who The Hell Knows?

14) Dallas Mavericks (2:04)

13) Philadelphia 76ers (18:47)

Tier 5: East's Middle Class

12) Milwaukee Bucks (32:09)

11) Atlanta Hawks (44:23)

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the third episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing the following tiers:

Tier 8: Gap Year

20) Indiana Pacers (1:33)

19) Boston Celtics (14:26)

Tier 7: Just Frisky, Or Something More?

18) Portland Trail Blazers (26:35)

17) Memphis Grizzlies (36:34)

16) Detroit Pistons (44:09)

15) San Antonio Spurs (55:59)

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the second episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing Tier 9: No Man's Land, which includes the following teams:

26) Chicago Bulls (2:23)

25) Phoenix Suns (13:33)

24) New Orleans Pelicans (27:06)

23) Sacramento Kings (37:18)

22) Toronto Raptors (46:46)

21) Miami Heat (57:05)

In order to preview the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season, let's discuss all 30 teams by grouping them into 10 tiers based on their prospects to contend this season. This is the first episode in the 6-part Contender Tiers series, discussing Tier 10: Ping Pong Ball Hopefuls, which includes the following teams:

30) Utah Jazz (2:32)

29) Brooklyn Nets (12:11)

28) Washington Wizards (24:43)

27) Charlotte Hornets (34:22)