The Woj Pod

ESPN Front Office Insider Bobby Marks joins The Woj Pod to discuss the Chicago Bulls hiring of coach Billy Donovan, the 76ers coaching search including Mike D’Antoni and Ty Lue, the emergence of the Denver Nuggets as a sustainable NBA force, and how the pandemic could impact free agency and roster spending in the 2020-2021 season.  

Denver Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly joins The Woj Pod to discuss the Nuggets' wild ride to the Western Conference Finals, constructing the best young roster in the league, resisting trading Jamal Murray for established veteran All-Stars, fighting self-doubt as a young GM, turning down offers to leave Denver, and much more. 

CNN’s Daniel Dale – the presidential fact-checker – talks about his intense Raptors fandom, his appreciation for Kyle Lowry, Masai Ujiri and Kawhi Leonard, how the popularity of his responsibilities grew at CNN...and a dog named Breezy.

Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks joins The Woj Pod for his first interview on the hiring of Steve Nash as the franchise’s head coach. Marks describes the 20-year relationship with Nash that kick-started the conversation, what Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving told him were important to find in the next coach, and why Marks believes that Nash can make a rapid transition into the head coaching role. 

ESPN NBA reporter Malika Andrews joins The Woj Pod to go inside the intensive 24 hours inside the bubble that could shape the future of the league - beginning with the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to boycott a playoff game, the domino impact it had on the rest of the teams and an emotional league-wide meeting on Wednesday night that left the league uncertain that it would complete the playoffs in the wake of more police brutality in America. 

Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic joins The Woj Pod to discuss the how the Miami Heat are isolated in The Bubble, his indelible place in European basketball lore, why Jimmy Butler's confrontational style fits the franchise, his mentorship and the genius of countryman Luka Doncic, and much more. 

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joins The Woj Pod to discuss lessons learned under Chris Paul, his rookie indoctrination into the NBA with the Clippers and Patrick Beverley, Canadian basketball, the AAU tournament feel of The Bubble and much more. 

Phoenix Suns star Deandre Ayton joins The Woj Pod to discuss the Suns' remarkable run in The Bubble, shaking the label of losers, how Monty Williams won him and his teammates over and much more. 

ESPN’s Rachel Nichols joins The Woj Pod to discuss Bubble Basketball, the environment for players, challenges for restarting the NBA next season and much more. 

Golden State's Bob Myers joins The Woj Pod to discuss the restart of the NBA season, reshaping the Warriors to chase more championships, Kevin Durant and the toll the Warriors finals run took on him. 

ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Bobby Marks join The Woj Pod to discuss the Orlando restart, including the Lakers, Clippers and Bucks championship aspirations, the 76ers leadership, the Nets future and much more.

Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri joins The Woj Pod to discuss the NBA's restart in Orlando, his global perspective on America and race, solutions for so few black executives in the NBA, how President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau impact his thinking and how that Raptors championship impacted his life.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff and Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego join The Woj Pod to discuss the difficulties of their teams getting left behind from the NBA's restart in Orlando, the shutdown's impact on rebuilding organizations, the NBA coaches association's resolve to impact race in America and much more.

Atlanta's Lloyd Pierce and Utah's Quin Snyder join The Woj Pod to discuss the NBA coach's association response and plan of action in the wake of continued racial injustices, Pierce's leadership in the civil rights bastion of Atlanta, Snyder on the responsibility of white coaches to impact change, and much more.

ESPN's Zach Lowe joins The Woj Pod for a Part II of our reporting centered on the NBA's return to play, issues surrounding a bubble environment, future challenges for the league, what teams benefit from a layoff, and much more.

Tom Thibodeau joins The Woj Pod to discuss the difficulty for coaches with teams coming out of a pandemic shutdown, Bulls/Rose/management, Timberwolves/Butler, watching old practice tapes of the Jordan Bulls in Chicago and the environment he hopes to find as an NBA coach again.

ESPN Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan joins The Woj Pod to discuss the parallel paths the NBA and MLB are taking in trying to play this summer, how dramatically different the union/league relationships are in the two sports, the impact of the star players' role in labor talks, Adam Silver and Rob Manfred and what's at stake for these sports in the future.

Father and son NBA and NFL visit with Detroit Pistons Senior Advisor Ed Stefanski and Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on The Woj Pod. The Stefanski's discuss the influence that Ed's front office career has had on Kevin's development as an NFL coach, including witnessing the Nets remarkable 2002 NBA Finals run, learning how a GM and coach need to build working relationships, virtual drafts, Ed's dubious future candidacy as Kevin's quality-control coach on the sidelines.

ESPN's Rachel Nichols and Bobby Marks join The Woj Pod to discuss Adam Silver's insights to players on a possible return to play and league future, how the NBA's evolving view on coronavirus testing impacts the chances of the season resuming this spring, the details of a playoff structure, how the loss of revenue will impact free agency and salary caps, Silver's leadership style and how it bodes for the hard decisions the league needs to make.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Passan join The Woj Pod to discuss the futures of the NBA, NFL and MLB, how we're covering sports in a pandemic, the commonality of insider roles and Passan's latest ode to The WuTang Clan.