Add CategoryLET’S get straight into it. These are the top 10 storylines for the NBA heading into training camp:
1. LEBRON AND THE LAKERS
Can “The Chosen One” turn the woebegone Lakers into a Western Conference powerhouse in his first season? Unlikely, but it is the season’s most fascinating Hollywood soap opera.
Adding to the fun are his odd cast — free-agent signees Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn, ex-Knick Michael Beasley and centre JaVale McGee.
With three promising youngsters in Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram and the smart signing of point guard Rajon Rondo, don’t be shocked if James lifts the Lakers to 45-48 wins, captures MVP, then recruits SoCal product Kawhi Leonard in 2019.
2. KAWHI IN CANADA
The Raptors have broken up their perennial Eastern Conference power by hiring a new coach, obscure assistant Nick Nurse, and pulling the trigger on the Leonard-DeMar DeRozan trade. Off a 59-win campaign, the move by general manager Masai Ujiri is a terrific gamble. It is uncommon NBA players fall in love with Toronto. However, Leonard is oddball enough to throw a curve next summer. That is, if the Raptors want him back. Leonard played just nine games last season with a mysterious quadriceps injury that caused his fracture with the Spurs. Knicks management will root for his departure to add another body to 2019’s free-agent pool.
3. WILL COUSINS MAKE WARRIORS “THE FAB FIVE?”
Adding centre DeMarcus Cousins to an All-Star championship mix is brilliant on the surface, especially at a mid-level salary. Former Knicks president Phil Jackson said this week that Cousins “has given (Steve Kerr) some new things to conjure up as far as coaching and taking a load off some of the other scorers.’’ However, Jackson added Cousins has a “lack of impulse control,’’ comparing him to his old charge, Dennis Rodman.
Cousins, whose torn Achilles made the Pelicans better with his absence, could make his return as early as December. He was the only player last season to average at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Centre has never been a strength of the Warriors’ dynasty. As Jackson says, Cousins will either be a lethal extra piece or distraction who hurts the locker room.
4. BRAD’S BOSTON BAND IS BACK
Healthy, Boston has such an embarrassment of riches, it belongs out West. With this array of talent and arguably the best coach in the game in Brad Stevens, the Celtics should dominate the East. But there are ifs regarding Gordon Hayward regaining his prior form after his gruesome ankle injury five minutes into last season, Kyrie Irving’s knees that cost him the playoffs, their chemistry and how point guard Terry Rozier handles returning to the bench. Add Irving and Hayward’s perimeter grace to young studs Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and still-in-his-prime Al Horford, with defensive hustle machine Marcus Smart and Rozier off the bench, and there’s no reason the Celtics can’t give the Warriors a fight in the Finals.
5. BUD AND THE BUCKS
Mike Budenholzer, the former coach of the year with the Hawks, could have been a Knick. He wanted the job, but Knicks management felt David Fizdale was the better fit for a young team. They rejected the best head coach on the market, who wanted to coach Kristaps Porzingis and install his pass-heavy offence. It was a blessing for the Bucks as they enter a sparkling new arena.
Despite having the league’s best player under 25 in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee mustered just 44 regular season wins and got blitzed by the Celtics in Round 1. Interim coach Joe Prunty was no match for Stevens. Budenholzer could be what the doctor ordered. The Bucks have the game’s most underrated forward in Khris Middleton and drafted unsung NCAA Tournament hero Donte DiVincenzo.
6. CARMELO WASHES UP IN HOUSTON
The Knicks knew of his decline first. The nation didn’t find out until last season as Carmelo Anthony’s lone year in OKC couldn’t have gone worse. No shocker, Anthony was uncomfortable in a complimentary role. His career-low 16.2 scoring average on 40.4 per cent shooting was beside the point. His lethargic defence and advanced metrics were awful, leading Billy Donovan to bench him in key moments of a first round loss to Utah.
But Mike D’Antoni, who despised his attitude in New York, is desperate for his first title. The Rockets lost another ex-Knick in Trevor Ariza and needed to gamble that the Rockets missing 27 straight three-pointers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals will never happen again. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on OKC’s Paul George-Russell Westbrook tandem as role-playing Patrick Patterson fills Anthony’s starting slot.
7. THE IMPLOSION OF THE TIMBERWOLVES
It took them so long to get to the playoffs. Now that the T’wolves got there on the last game of the season, are they ready to implode? The league’s newest fusspot is Jimmy Butler, who has requested a trade to the Clippers, Knicks or Nets because he wants a bigger market and has problems with Andrew Wiggins, Wiggins’ brother and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Butler sweepstakes/soap opera will be worth watching. Head coach/team president Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden don’t want to deal Butler, but face the unenviable task of restoring peace.
8. POST-LEBRON CAVALIERS
Kevin Love is back to being a franchise player like he was in Minnesota. But the Cavaliers may lose like Minnesota did, too. Love has his four-year, $120 million extension and will try to form a dynamic pairing with rookie point guard Collin Sexton. Cavs management believe there was enough talent around James and are thinking playoffs with a band that needs more from J.R. Smith, Rodney Hood and well-paid Tristan Thompson.
9. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR DOGFIGHT
Last season’s Tatum-Donovan Mitchell-Ben Simmons race was a joy. This year could be equally close, with Kevin Knox in position to take an early lead if Porzingis is out the first three months. That’s a lot more touches. Lots of scouts think another 19-year-old, Dallas Euro sharpshooter Luka Doncic, is mature enough to titillate fans unaware of his game. Sexton has free rein and one of the rookie big-man studs — Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter — will emerge.
10. THE DURANT DERBY
Kevin Durant put an opt-out into his two-year contract because he wants to play the field again and perhaps remove the asterisk from his two championships. It will be a sidebar to the Warriors’ march to a fourth NBA title. It was unwise for Warriors GM Bob Myers to deliver an uncomfortable zinger during the last championship parade ceremony that Durant doesn’t have the cachet as Stephen Curry because he wasn’t there from the beginning. Durant laughed nervously. Though the free-agent class is stocked, Durant has no flaws like some others. The Knicks should be in the Hamptons mix this time.