B/R Staff: Teams We'd Watch on NBA 'Hard Knocks'

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Frankly, the NBA and some streaming service giving us a basketball version of Hard Knocks is long overdue.

How many sports leagues feature as many big personalities and as much drama as this one? Trade requests, issues with roles, in-fighting, and philosophical battles between players, coaches and front offices are all pretty common in the NBA. It would be a blast to watch all of the above (and more) unfold in front of a professional documentary crew.

Heck, even the organizations functioning like well-oiled machines could be fun to observe. We might learn a thing or two with that perspective on display.

Whatever the approach, there are several teams in the league right now that deserve the Hard Knocks treatment, and the Bleacher Report NBA staff broke some of those down below. For the fun of this exercise, we'll expand the format of Hard Knocks to include in-season episodes.

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After the NFL's Hard Knocks featured the New York Jets this year, why not stay in the area to feature the New York Knicks in an NBA equivalent?

There's some good drama potential here, even on a team that could finish with homecourt advantage in the East.

Evan Fournier is still on the roster after previously stating, "If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career. I can manage a year without playing. Two… that would be terrible," after falling out of the rotation last season. There could be a battle for the starting shooting guard spot as well, as head coach Tom Thibodeau refused to commit to using Quentin Grimes with Donte DiVincenzo now on the roster (along with Immanuel Quickley and Josh Hart).

Cameras should be able to get some good stories from the Villanova 3 of Jalen Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo while Mitchell Robinson has given us a glimpse of his comedy chops.

Kyden Randle is deserving of his own segment and RJ Barrett could give us a recap of playing for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA World Cup

This is also a team that will be in the conversation whenever a star player becomes available, adding even more potential wrinkles to a season. We're all for seeing the Knicks on Hard Knocks.

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Count the Denver Nuggets among those teams without a ton of drama to magnify. Most of the championship-winning core is back for 2023-24. There have been few (if any) meaningful rumors about players being mad about their roles. And their two best players, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, are among the game's most unassuming off-the-court personalities.

So, why would they be fun to watch in a docuseries?

For one thing, as evidenced by this summer's championship parade, coach Michael Malone is a character who isn't afraid to provide some sound bites. Seeing the way he motivates this seemingly quiet and workmanlike bunch would be interesting.

And while I already threw some water on the idea of following Jokić and Murray around, there are surely things that make them tick. A deeper look at their habits, goals and the things that drive them could be eye-opening.

And finally, seeing an incoming young core that includes Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson fight for relevance in the NBA and a little more reliability for Denver's bench would be a fun side story.

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It certainly doesn't seem like there's been any on-court tension between Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving during their young partnership, but the ball-dominant styles of each makes it possible. It would be interesting to watch them and the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff try to sort through exactly how those two will work together.

But the potential for entertainment doesn't begin and end there.

Grant Williams is notoriously one of the league's loudest and most consistent talkers. Dante Exum is in the middle of a cool comeback story after falling out of the league a few years ago and dominating for Partizan Belgrade last season. There's potential for multigenerational storylines for players with NBA fathers like Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway Jr.

And of course, Dallas has one of the game's most visible and up-front owners in Mark Cuban, who has plenty of TV experience from his days on Shark Tank.

—Bailey

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Last year's Warriors would have been Hard Knocks gold if for no other reason than The Punch. This offseason, virtually every coach and player is preaching that the team is more connected.

But will that last?

Chris Paul and Draymond Green are fiery competitors who are sure to butt heads at some point. After the failed James Wiseman experiment, Jonathan Kuminga becomes the next must-take-a-third-year-leap player trying to fit in with several multi-time champions who don't have the patience to wait for his development.

It feels combustible, and once again it'll be mostly up to Stephen Curry to keep the train on the rails.

What happens if the Curry-Paul minutes become a major problem on the defensive end? Would the Warriors consider keeping Paul out of closing lineups? Would they attempt to trade him?

How Paul fits with the Warriors will be the biggest on-court storyline. But the star of this show, especially off the court, would be Klay Thompson.

The eccentric five-time All-Star would take viewers on his boat one episode and then show us his dog, Rocco, on another. Just put a camera on Thompson, and hilarity will ensue.

—Joey Akeley

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Look, South Beach sells itself as a compelling setting for a reality TV show, but there are other reasons—both basketball and beyond—to think this could work.

You could devote an entire episode to the franchise's famed #culture and how exactly it is implemented. It would be fascinating to hear both the way this coaching staff sells its vision and how the players receive it. Newcomers could pinpoint exactly what this team does differently than the rest of the Association, and maybe by season's end, we'd all have ideas of how the secret sauce is made.

On the court, we could watch Erik Spoelstra, perhaps the best in the coaching business, work his magic. Maybe we'd catch glimpses of what goes into Jimmy Butler's elite competitiveness or what all Bam Adebayo is attempting to add to his bag. We'd see Tyler Herro attempt to reclaim his place as an organizational building block, Kyle Lowry fighting against Father Time and maybe even see an early glimpse of this team's next undrafted diamond in the rough.

Off the court, we'd get the backstory of Butler's…uh…eclectic hairstyles or hear what's brewing with Big Face Coffee. We could hear exactly how Herro feels after seemingly having one foot out the door amid Miami's Damian Lillard pursuit. We could get a confidence check-in with Caleb Martin, who had some breakout moments last postseason and might need to summon more with Max Strus gone from the wing rotation.

The potential plot points are endless, but more than anything, this would give some overdue national attention to a team with three conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals berths to show for the past four seasons.

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Hard Knocks feeds off drama. And no team is entering the 2023-24 NBA season with more drama hanging over its head than the Philadelphia 76ers.

After calling team president Daryl Morey a liar in mid-August, James Harden skipped media day and still wants to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne expects Harden "to make life very uncomfortable for the 76ers" as he attempts to force Morey to cave on his trade request.

Unfortunately for Harden, this is not Morey's first rodeo with a disgruntled star point guard who requested a trade. Morey made Ben Simmons wait all the way until the February trade deadline before moving him (for Harden, ironically enough), and he's once again pledging to hold firm until the Sixers receive a star player in return or a package that can help them land a star in the future.

What's next in this saga? That's what would make such great theater. We've already seen Harden loaf his way out of both Houston and Brooklyn. What does he have in store with the Sixers, knowing that Morey might be the one person who's as stubborn as he is?

Meanwhile, reigning MVP Joel Embiid has begun intimating that he might eventually be open to leaving the Sixers. The body-language police would have a field day watching his every move during training camp and the preseason to see if (when?) his patience with the Sixers' never-ending drama runs out.

One thing's for sure: If the Sixers were on Hard Knocks, Tyrese Maxey would become America's new sweetheart.

—Bryan Toporek

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The Phoenix Suns have gone all in with a star-filled roster, and Hard Knocks needs to cover every second of that title chase. Kevin Durant, 35, is still a top star and one of the most compelling figures in the league. He's unafraid to clap back at critics, especially on social media.

Already armed with All-Star scorer Devin Booker, the franchise added Bradley Beal in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards. The offensive potential of the group is off the charts—Durant's career-high is 55 points, Beal's is 60 and Booker's is a stunning 70. Defensively, the team could struggle, which should mean high-scoring battles nightly.

Unfortunately, Deandre Ayton was offloaded to the Portland Trail Blazers. His friction was former head coach Monty Williams would have helped increase the drama quotient. Instead, the Suns have the lower-key Frank Vogel and Jusuf Nurkic—but don't let that diminish what Phoenix brings to the table.

The Suns have spent a ton on their roster, given away just about every possible draft pick and all but thumbed its nose at the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement. Phoenix will be an expensive mess or a massive triumph. Expectations are as high as possible, so come for the potential of great success; stay for the very real possibility of epic failure.

— Eric Pincus

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A few weeks ago, the Bucks would have been a rather underwhelming choice for an NBA Hard Knocks. It looked like they were simply running back most of the same group from last year by re-signing Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Jae Crowder and didn't have the cap space to bring in any flashy new additions.

Then the Damian Lillard trade happened.

Lillard joining the championship-hopeful Bucks is must-see TV both on the court and in the locker room. From Lillard taking us inside his summer and how the trade to Milwaukee eventually unfolded to seeing how he and Giannis Antetokounmpo work together during training camp and the preseason would be a delight for NBA fans.

While Lillard and Antetokounmpo are the main course here, there would be plenty of tasty side dishes as well. Brook and Robin Lopez are reunited and should absolutely make a basketball version of the Kelce brothers' "New Heights" podcast, which would actually be a far more appropriate title for the Lopez twins. Adrian Griffin is making his head coaching debut after 15 years as an assistant and Bobby Portis could share some great stories from playing for USA basketball this summer.

The Bucks would have been a ho-hum choice not long ago, although the addition of Lillard has made Milwaukee one of the most fascinating teams to follow.

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Can't do NBA Hard Knocks without the Los Angeles Lakers. The team may not have as much blatant drama this season after moving on from Russell Westbrook, but LeBron James (even in year 21) remains one of the league's top headliners.

After he and the Lakers were ousted from the Western Conference Finals by Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, James suggested that he may be nearing the end of his career. James was talking about retirement for the first time since he joined the league in 2003.

While he eventually decided to return, James remained coy at media day, as the team was collecting in L.A. for the 2023-24 campaign. He wouldn't say outright if this was his last season. Love or hate James, he's one of the NBA's all-time greatest players—and his swan song needs to be televised.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team should make for compelling viewing as one of the West's top (potentially) franchises. From Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russel to newcomers like Christian Wood and Gabe Vincent, the Lakers bring much to look at this coming season.

And, of course, ratings. The Lakers have one of the largest international fan bases in the league.

—Pincus