With the start of the 2024-25 campaign days away, here are eight intriguing storylines to follow throughout the basketball calendar.
Bronny’s role with Lakers
Of course it’ll be memorable when LeBron and Bronny James officially take the floor together for the first time, but what are the Lakers’ long-term plans for the 2024 draft’s 55th overall pick? After giving him a heavily guaranteed four-year deal – a rarity for fresh second-rounders in the NBA – Los Angeles seems content to use a roster spot on the 20-year-old. But for how long? This is still a squad under intense pressure to win now with a rookie head coach in JJ Redick. Any trade that brings in more bodies than the Lakers send out, or their annual post-deadline tradition of scavenging the buyout market, could create tension in L.A.
In the likeliest scenario, Bronny will flesh out his game with the G League’s South Bay Lakers until the organization considers him ready (although that won’t alleviate a potential roster crunch). In the meantime, the franchise has fellow 2024 draftee Dalton Knecht, who looks more than ready to make the jump after three years in college and an impressive preseason.
An ideal outcome for Bronny and the Lakers would mirror what the Toronto Raptors did with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. The pair spent much of their 2016-17 rookie campaigns with the Raptors’ G League (then D-League) affiliate, not just honing their craft but also helping that team win the 2017 minor-league title. Both players cite that developmental period as pertinent to their eventual emergence as All-Stars.
Has the Bucks’ window closed?
After winning a championship in 2021, it seemed like the Bucks were primed to keep challenging for titles. Their core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday fit nicely with the offensive system of coach Mike Budenholzer. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the team’s future looks much bleaker due to Doc Rivers’ questionable leadership, Middleton’s iffy health, and the lack of a two-man game between Antetokounmpo and his current point guard, Damian Lillard.
Year 2 for this group could produce different results, but Milwaukee’s championship outlook is dimming rapidly. The biggest reason is that the Bucks’ core is aging, and they don’t have prospects who can step into supplemental roles. While the Greek Freak is still in his prime at 29 years old, his three best teammates – Lillard, Middleton, and Brook Lopez – are each over the age of 33 and project to be declining. Middleton has been limited to 88 games across the last two seasons due to various lower-body injuries, and he underwent offseason surgery on both ankles. There’s reasonable doubt as to whether Lopez can remain the Bucks’ defensive presence in the paint at 36 years old. Lillard showed signs of regression in his first season in Milwaukee, but there’s still hope that he can adapt and support Antetokounmpo as a second option.
On top of those short- and long-term worries, Rivers did little to re-establish himself as a quality coach, seemingly cruising in the regular season before the team’s loss to the upstart Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. With a full-blown training camp and new additions in Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince, the Bucks do have an opportunity to improve this campaign. However, it’s hard to wave away the concerns about the key members of Antetokounmpo’s supporting cast.
CP3’s impact on Spurs, Wemby
It’s no coincidence that teams get better when they add Chris Paul. The Los Angeles Clippers went from afterthoughts to perennial challengers with Paul guiding a young Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Oklahoma City Thunder made the postseason during Paul’s lone season with the club, and his mentorship helped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander develop into an MVP-caliber player and set the stage for the Thunder’s rise to contender status. Paul also helped lead a dramatic turnaround in the desert as the Phoenix Suns reached their first Finals in 28 years during his first season with the franchise.
The San Antonio Spurs are hoping Paul can make a similar impact on Victor Wembanyama and the rest of their young nucleus. Gregg Popovich’s squad was the youngest team in the NBA last season and certainly could’ve benefited from the presence of a veteran or two as it stumbled to a second straight 22-win campaign.
But the Spurs didn’t sign Paul in free agency just to add experience to their locker room. The future Hall of Famer also brings stability to the point guard position after the team thrust Jeremy Sochan into the starting role to begin the 2023-24 campaign. At age 39, Paul still has plenty of playmaking juice – he averaged 6.8 assists and finished 11th in assist percentage (33.4%) last season despite coming off the bench. Paul’s pick-and-roll mastery could give Wembanyama’s growing offensive arsenal yet another dimension.
Flagg leads deep 2025 draft class
A generational prospect like Wembanyama doesn’t seem to await the league’s bottom-feeders, though the 2025 draft class is shaping up to be much stronger than the 2024 group. Line up those tanks.
The early favorite to go No. 1 overall is Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils forward is an explosive athlete with the ability to influence the game on both ends. He’s a versatile defender, a great passer for his size, and has shown an improved 3-point stroke. Flagg turned heads this summer with an impressive showing for the USA Select Team in a pre-Olympic scrimmage against the national squad.
The other two candidates to go first overall both hail from Rutgers. Ace Bailey is an energetic 6-foot-10 wing with two-way upside. He can create his own shot, boasts the length to guard multiple positions, and has experience running the point. His teammate Dylan Harper is a 6-foot-6 floor general who can score at all three levels. Harper’s got an NBA-ready frame, he makes good reads when operating in the pick-and-roll, and he’s an excellent rebounder for his position.
Are Grizzlies title contenders with Ja back?
This is an extremely talented Memphis roster that’s only one season removed from having the league’s third-best defensive rating, winning 51 games, and finishing second in the Western Conference. It’s hard to succeed in this league when your MVP candidate only plays in nine contests due to injury and suspension. The task becomes even harder if your other four projected starters also miss double-digit games.
But the squad is back, and the Grizzlies are (mostly) healthy. Maybe getting Santi Aldama, GG Jackson, and Vince Williams Jr. on-ball reps will bear fruit come playoff time (although the latter two have already gone down with injuries). One thing is for sure: This team has to play fast. Even when Morant was healthy, the Grizzlies struggled to create offense in the half court. During Morant’s nine games, their pace spiked, and their offensive rating rose along with it. Memphis has been the third-fastest team in the preseason, trailing only the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
This team will win more games than it did last year, but can it contend for a title? That depends on how Morant and rookie center Zach Edey coexist on offense and how Jaren Jackson Jr. impacts the game next to the 7-foot-4 giant on defense. Asking a first-year big to become prime Steven Adams is a tall order, but Edey could be a game-changer.
Warriors embark on post-Klay era
Longtime Golden State Warriors wing Klay Thompson’s departure to the Dallas Mavericks closed a chapter. One of the most iconic players in the team’s history, it’s unlikely the Warriors win four championships without Thompson as Steph Curry’s backcourt partner. However, his absence gives the franchise an opportunity to step into a new era.
The Warriors rebuffed the Utah Jazz’s efforts to acquire Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Moses Moody for Lauri Markkanen, making a bet that the trio can be consistent contributors this season. Over nearly 30 games in 2023-24, Kuminga averaged 19.1 points as a starter. Now Steve Kerr needs to find consistent minutes for the 22-year-old as the team’s most intriguing prospect. Podziemski and Moody are two of the players in contention to receive some of Thompson’s minutes, along with offseason additions Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton and veteran defensive specialist Gary Payton II.
Golden State has a multitude of options to surround Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins, but Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff will have their hands full building a rotation that can remain competitive. If they can’t do it, the Warriors will need to make some tough decisions in order to give the league’s greatest shooter one more shot at a title.
Sinking Clippers anchored to Kawhi’s health
Things are not looking good in Inglewood, California. Owner Steve Ballmer intended to open his new multibillion dollar Intuit Dome with a star-studded team, hoping to attract casual L.A. fans to his new state-of-the-art facility.
Unfortunately for Ballmer and the Clippers, things haven’t gone according to plan. Paul George felt shortchanged by the organization’s contract offer and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer. Los Angeles is attempting to replace George’s production with a bevy of role players, inking Nic Batum, Kris Dunn, and Derrick Jones Jr. to free-agent deals.
Meanwhile, star forward Kawhi Leonard sat out the entire preseason as he continues to deal with a recurring knee problem. The 33-year-old was pulled from the U.S. Olympic camp this summer and reportedly underwent a knee procedure later in the offseason to help solve the problem. Now he’s out indefinitely to start the 2024-25 campaign.
And the Clippers can’t even tank: The Oklahoma City Thunder have the right to swap their own first-round 2025 pick forL.A.’s, which OKC obtained in the disastrous George-SGA deal. In fact, due to L.A.’s constant search for star power, the Clippers don’t control their own first-round draft pick until 2030. Their fans should get ready for healthy doses of 35-year-old James Harden and Norman Powell isolations.
Are the Rockets set for liftoff?
After winning 11 straight games in March, the Houston Rockets looked primed to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021. However, they couldn’t maintain that momentum, dropping six of their last nine contests and failing to reach the play-in tournament. Despite that disappointment, the Rockets should feel good as they enter the campaign with another opportunity to end the playoff drought.
Houston’s big offseason addition was drafting Kentucky sharpshooter Reed Sheppard third overall. The guard flashed his 3-point presence and playmaking abilities in training camp and preseason, potentially giving Houston another formidable ball-handler alongside Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and last year’s lottery pick, Amen Thompson.
Any of the Rockets’ young players could take a leap, but 22-year-old center Alperen Sengun can raise the team’s ceiling the most. He was in contention for an All-Star nod last season and averaged a career-best 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and five assists. If he continues to serve as the hub of Houston’s offense, that’ll benefit the rest of the roster, potentially aiding the growth of all the high-level prospects that need playing time under coach Ime Udoka. Given another year of familiarity with Udoka’s defensive philosophy, Houston’s deep squad has a good chance to get back into the postseason.
