The Vertical staff goes inside the Kevin Durant free agency process on The Vertical Podcast with Woj. Adrian Wojnarowski visits with The Vertical's Michael Lee, Bobby Marks and Nick DePaula to explore the Oklahoma City superstar's free agency process. Michael and Woj discuss why the hometown Washington Wizards were never serious candidates to lure Durant, and how the Durant-Russell Westbrook relationship factors into Durant's decision. Bobby, the Vertical's front office insider, talks about his days in the Nets front office and helping to prepare presentations for stars such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and how NBA teams go about preparing pitches for players like Durant. DePaula discusses the impact of Durant's Nike partnership on free agency, and how much of a difference playing in a bigger market would make his endorser. DePaula discusses the impact on Golden State MVP Steph Curry and his shoe brand if Durant were to join him with the Warriors.

Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough joins The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski. McDonough discusses the behind-the-scenes of the draft-day trade that brought Dragan Bender and Marquise Chriss to the Suns, how he can sell the Suns as a free agent destination with their burgeoning young core of talent and the frustration of dealing with inaccurate trade reports as a GM. For the first time, McDonough discusses his pursuit of Brad Stevens to coach the Suns prior to Stevens' leaving Butler for the Boston Celtics. He goes into great detail on growing up the son of legendary journalist Will McDonough, how his father's relationship with Bill Parcells has yielded him sage front office advice and how a young generation of NBA GM's keep a particularly close relationship.

Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough joins The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski. McDonough discusses the behind-the-scenes of the draft-day trade that brought Dragan Bender and Marquise Chriss to the Suns, how he can sell the Suns as a free agent destination with their burgeoning young core of talent and the frustration of dealing with inaccurate trade reports as a GM. For the first time, McDonough discusses his pursuit of Brad Stevens to coach the Suns prior to Stevens' leaving Butler for the Boston Celtics. He goes into great detail on growing up the son of legendary journalist Will McDonough, how his father's relationship with Bill Parcells has yielded him sage front office advice and how a young generation of NBA GM's keep a particularly close relationship.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of the Vertical discuss the breaking news surrounding the Chicago Bulls trade of Derrick Rose the New York Knicks. Woj and Shams break down the impact of the Rose era in Chicago, and discuss whether the Knicks paid to steep of a price for Rose, who has had marginal value on the trade market. The two Vertical insiders discuss free agent possibilities to replace Robin Lopez at center in New York, including Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. Nick DePaula, The Vertical's shoe insider, joins Woj in another segment to discuss the impact on Rose's shoe value and Adidas with the move from Chicago to New York.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress joins Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical Podcast to breakdown Thursday's NBA Draft. Givony and Woj discuss possible trade scenarios and draft picks as they could unfold Thursday night in Brooklyn - from the lottery through the late first-round. Woj gives insight into draft strategies of teams throughout the lottery - and possible player targets of teams looking to trade out picks for veteran stars. Givony and Woj discuss The Vertical's live draft show on Thursday night and how they'll be bringing the latest draft information to viewers in real time.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of the Vertical discuss the breaking news surrounding the Chicago Bulls trade of Derrick Rose the New York Knicks. Woj and Shams break down the impact of the Rose era in Chicago, and discuss whether the Knicks paid to steep of a price for Rose, who has had marginal value on the trade market. The two Vertical insiders discuss free agent possibilities to replace Robin Lopez at center in New York, including Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. Nick DePaula, The Vertical's shoe insider, joins Woj in another segment to discuss the impact on Rose's shoe value and Adidas with the move from Chicago to New York.

Providence guard Kris Dunn - one of the top picks in the 2016 NBA Draft - joins Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical Podcast. Dunn and Woj discuss Dunn's harrowing journey from a young child conspiring with his brother to evade child services and live alone together while their mother was incarcerated. With great emotion and excruciating detail, Dunn lays out how he had to gamble on pick-up basketball games and play cards to earn money around his housing project - all until his father finally located his kids and brought them to live with him. From that horrific start in life, Dunn transformed himself into an All-American player, a college graduate and now the No. 1-rated point guard in the June 23 NBA Draft.

Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti joins Adrian Wojnarowski in studio for an illuminating visit on The Vertical Podcast with Woj. In perhaps the most in-depth interview of Presti's executive career, he discusses the Thunder's vision and hopes for re-signing superstar Kevin Durant, the construction of the franchise's culture and the significant franchise success in the Durant-Russell Westbrook era.

Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey joins Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical Podcast with Woj. Morey discusses the hiring of Mike D'Antoni and the reason Jeff Van Gundy never received a formal interview for the coaching job, the future of the Dwight Howard-James Harden partnership, and the Sam Hinkie-era in Philadelphia. Morey discusses what promises to be a wild summer of free agency with the rising salary cap, and why he still believes the Rockets are a prime free agent destination.

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers joins Adrian Wojnarowski on the the Vertical Podcast with Woj. In the aftermath of the Warriors historic comeback in the Western Conference Finals. Myers discusses the inner-workings of the franchise's dramatic series victory over Oklahoma City, including a lengthy conversation on the uniqueness of Stephen Curry as a franchise player and the behind-the-scenes detail on how he leads the organization. Myers talks about the forging of his bond with coach Steve Kerr, and how they navigated Kerr's back injury that caused him to miss a significant portion of the regular season. Myers talks about his reaction to owner Joe Lacob's comments that the Warriors are "light-years" ahead of the rest of the NBA, how his front-office peers league-wide reacted to it. Myers discusses the impact of the Warriors record-breaking 73 victory regular season, and the pressure it put onto the team in the playoffs.