100 bold NBA predictions for 2019-20 season

If you're looking for an NBA team that has everything, look no further than the Los Angeles Clippers. They have arguably the two best wing defenders in the league with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, both of whom can score and shoot from deep. They have an electric bench scoring duo of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, a defensive ace in Patrick Beverley, a young three-point bomber in Landry Shamet and a reserve wing, Moe Harkless, who started for a conference finals team last season. Their one weakness is at center, but we are confident that owner Steve Ballmer will spend what it takes to get them prepared for Joel Embiid and Al Horford. Kawhi is about to become the first back-to-back NBA champion since Patrick McCaw.

Unless Boston is able to swing a trade for the likes of Bradley Beal, the top tier of the Eastern Conference boasts only two teams: the Sixers and the Bucks. This is a quantity over quality argument. The Bucks have the most dominant regular-season player in basketball in Giannis Antetokounmpo and a cast of solid role players. The Sixers have Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Al Horford and Josh Richardson to throw at Giannis. While none of them can stop him individually, the ability to present him with multiple looks could wear down the Greek Freak over a seven-game series. Offensively, (a slimmed down?) Joel Embiid should be able to be close enough to matching Giannis to where his superior supporting cast will swing the tide.

The Western Conference finals will be an absolute dogfight this season, but when in doubt, go with the teams that have the best players in each series. Apologies to Utah, Golden State and Denver, but that means the Lakers' Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and the Clippers' Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. It's going to be challenge enough to get through the playoff minefield, but the Clippers will also have to overcome a likely Lakers-heavy crowd in their "home" games at Staples. Luckily nothing rattles the Board Man.

Yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the betting favorite, but The Brow is in the best situation of his career in Los Angeles. He’s got the smartest basketball player on Earth, LeBron James, alongside him and a ton of motivation after last year’s lost season in New Orleans. Davis won’t have to carry the weight of a franchise on his own or be the sole focus of defenses, and MVP voters will love the narrative of AD’s redemptive season in Los Angeles. As long as he doesn’t miss serious time with an injury — always a risk with Davis — he’s going to challenge for the MVP and maybe even Defensive Player of the Year.

As long as his shoes don’t explode, Williamson -- who will miss time at the beginning of the season because of a knee injury -- should still take home the Rookie of the Year Award. He dominated in college, he’s been unstoppable in the preseason and there’s enough offensive talent around him — Jrue Holiday, sweet-shooting J.J. Redick and E’Twaun Moore — that defenses facing New Orleans can’t send double teams without getting burned. Plus outside of Zion, there are few talented rookies who are going to play big minutes on a team that’s not terrible — apologies to Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and RJ Barrett (Knicks) for their awful rosters.

The NBA went crazy with transactions this July, and when teams are spending freely, the expectations from owners rise. There are more quality teams than there are playoff spots, so that means we are getting some disappointed franchises, particularly in the Western Conference. As the saying goes, you can't fire the players, so some perfectly fine coaches are going to be looking for work, whether it's in April or as early as Christmas.

A couple of the forces working against Dork Elvis staying on as the Rockets' main decision-maker next season after firing off arguably the most influential tweet in the history of sports:

• Yao Ming is "extremely hot" over him getting involved in Chinese politics
• The NBA's salary cap could dip as much as 10-15 percent next season because of the controversy.
• The Rockets could lose $25M this season due to sponsorship boycotts in China.
• He'll likely get sick of working for Tilman Fertitta (or Fertitta will get sick of him).
• The Rockets could very well implode with Mike D'Antoni in a lame-duck season and usage gods James Harden and Russell Westbrook teaming up.

Did you know that Rudy Gobert actually bested Giannis when it came to dunks in the 2018-19 regular season? Gobert finished with 306 dunks to Giannis' 279; however, he played nine more games than the Greek Freak, so Giannis' dunks per game average was slightly higher (nearly four per game). Giannis will claim both the total and per game dunk crowns this season because his star is still rising, he's getting bigger and stronger each season, and, I mean, just watch this guy! 

It may be Steph Curry (Warriors), it may be James Harden (Rockets) and it might even be Buddy Hield (Kings), but Curry’s record of 402 three-pointers is not going to last long. Last season saw four of the top seven three-pointer totals in history, with the aforementioned three players plus Paul George all exceeding 277 threes. Teams are taking more shots from long distance each season, and this season Curry doesn’t have to share the ball with Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson. And don’t sleep on Hield, who shot 42.7 percent last year and has Warriors alum Luke Walton in charge to give him the green light from deep.

Last season, the Sixers had the No. 8-ranked offense and No. 15 defense. They effectively turned Jimmy Butler (a very good offensive and defensive player) and JJ Redick (a very good offensive player and below-average defensive player) into Al Horford (a very good defensive player and good offensive player) and Josh Richardson (a good defensive player and above-average offensive player) this offseason. Thus, we would suspect that this starting lineup, which should play some of the most minutes together in the league, will be the best defensive lineup in the league while maintaining its offensive prowess. The key is going to be the team's ability to make three-pointers and defend three-pointers with such a massive lineup — Josh Richardson is its shortest starter at 6-foot-6!!

In the 2015-16 season, the Warriors and Kings both averaged a hair over 100 possessions per game - the first teams to do so since the 2009-10 Warriors. In the 2016-17 season, four teams eclipsed the 100 possession mark, with the Nets getting to nearly 102 possessions per game. In 2017-18, five teams averaged over 100 possessions per game. Then last season, due to the enforcement of the new freedom of movement rules, 17 teams eclipsed 100 possessions per game with the Hawks leading the way at 104.6 possessions per game and five other teams over 103 per game. Teams are going to keep pushing the pace this season, and if the preseason is any indication of what the regular season might look like, I would suspect that nearly every team in the league averages over 100 possession per game and the fastest teams are in the 105 to 108 possessions per game range. 

Only James Harden (36.1 points per game) cracked the 30-point threshold last season. That won't be the case this season as the Rockets' Harden will presumably be above 30 again, but also be joined by the likes of Steph Curry (Warriors), and perhaps Anthony Davis (Lakers) or Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks). Curry, who averaged 27 points per game last year, is a mortal lock to accomplish this feat as his usage and opportunities are going to increase like crazy with Kevin Durant out of The Bay Area and Klay Thompson (Warriors) out for at least half the season. Davis will be playing with one of the best passers in the NBA in LeBron James, who will be extra-motivated to keep AD appeased. And I expect Giannis to continue to develop into the game's most dominant force, so a bump in scoring (and hopefully minutes per game — looking at you, Mike Budenholzer!) seems likely, especially if he can start to hit three-pointers.

Russell Westbrook was the only player to crack the double-digit assist mark in 2018-19 with nearly 11 per game. While there's a good chance he's under 10 this season, I could easily see Atlanta's Trae Young averaging 10 per game, considering he was over eight per game his rookie season and close to 10 in the second half of the season. If Point LeBron really becomes a thing in L.A., averaging double-digit assists will become a point of pride for him as the season wears on. Houston's James Harden should score a little less this season, which could increase his assist output closer to where it was prior to last season (10 per game the previous two seasons). And finally, any player from Ben Simmons (Sixers) to De'Aaron Fox (Kings) to Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) could realize a bump in assist numbers due to the increased opportunities that will present themselves with the faster pace of play.

I've got a feeling that 2019-20 could be the year of Embiid, as the Sixers are poised to make a run at the Finals. And the one player in the league who could give him trouble (Al Horford) is now his teammate. Horford's defensive versatility and ability to guard on the perimeter should allow Embiid to have an even greater defensive impact at the rim. His blocks and rebounds per game should be near the top of the league, and the 76ers should have one of the best defenses, if not the best defense, in the NBA. Hence, Embiid is a logical prediction for the DPOY.

As crazy as it may sound, Ben Simmons has played 182 total regular-season and playoff games in his career. He's attempted 18 three-pointers and made precisely zero. After declaring that he's "comfortable" shooting jumpers and heroically making a three in a preseason game, I suspect Simmons will at least attempt a three every other game, and I suspect they'll be wide open, so I assume he'll make 20 percent of those threes.

While the Sixers have the better roster and title chance, the Bucks have the most dominant two-way, regular-season player (Giannis) since the Miami Heat version of LeBron James, a coach who understands how to best deploy that player (in the regular season at least) and a supporting cast of high-level role players. This formula should once again yield close to 60 wins, a top seed in the East and a top-10 offense and defense in the league.

Giannis' regular-season numbers last season were something we've never really seen before: 28 points, 13 rebound, six assists and two blocks per game. The points, rebounds and blocks make him seem like a center, yet the assists and aesthetics paint a different picture. The Greek Freak is right in the middle of his athletic prime (25 years old this year) and should have no trouble replicating those insane numbers for the next couple of season. The big question will be whether he develops into a LeBron-level playmaker or a Durant-level shooter...or both??

Meet Khris Middleton — the Mo Williams to Giannis' LeBron. And Brook Lopez — the Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Giannis' LeBron. And don't forget Eric Bledsoe — the Larry Hughes to Giannis' LeBron. While this analogy doesn't entirely work because Hughes and Williams never actually played together, you get the point: Giannis has decent but not great teammates. His teammates are good enough to help him win 55-60 games per year in the regular season but not good enough to pick him up when he's being neutralized or slowed down in an important playoff series like he was last spring against Kawhi Leonard. Expect more of the same during gut-check time this postseason from his teammates.

Boston tried dating its celebrity crush (Kyrie Irving) the past two seasons and, at first, it was amazing. However, the extraneous nonsense got to be too much, and it quickly soured to the point where even the unflappable Brad Stevens was adversely impacted. Now that the Celtics have gotten that out of their system (they lost Al Horford because of it), they can go back to doing what they have always done best under Stevens: play excellent team defense, run creative offensive sets that maximize their best players strengths and exceed expectations.

Another member of the Celtics who suffered because of the Kyrie Irving fiasco last season was Jayson Tatum. Many expected Tatum's 2018-19 season to mirror his 2018 playoff performance where he averaged 19 points per game and nearly led the Celtics to the Finals. Unfortunately he stopped attacking the basket (averaging less than three free throws per game last year after averaging more than five in the playoffs the year before), and he fell in love with Kobe-like contested two-pointers. He promises all of that is out of his system and, quite frankly, we believe him and expect him to have an All-Star kind of season this year.

In Boston, there's a Tom Brady tier. Then a David Ortiz tier. Then there's a tier reserved for the Isaiah Thomas-type of players whom the city falls in love with because of their passion and big-game performances. After spending years toiling in mediocrity, Kemba Walker is going to cherish playing in front of an enthusiastic fan base in a real sports town. And if you recall, Kemba plays his best when he's on center stage.

The Celtics have an Al Horford-sized hole in their roster but the assets to do something about it with three intriguing wings (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward) and the Memphis pick (top-six protected). Of those four assets, Brown and Hayward are the most likely to be shipped out of town. Brown and the Celtics are unlikely to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the Oct. 21 deadline, which could have a negative impact on fourth-year player's attitude and relationship with the organization, making him an obvious centerpiece in a deal. As for Hayward, the Celtics may try to include him in a deal to get off the rest of his massive contract. 

Siakam made the "All-Star Leap" last season when he went from being a moderately used bench player to a pivotal piece of the Raptors' surprise title run and won the Most Improved Player award. With Kawhi Leonard no longer in the picture, expect Siakam to make another Leap this season and play well enough to receive All-NBA consideration. Don't believe me: Go back and watch the way he played in Game 1 and Game 6 of the Finals.

Despite losing Kawhi Leonard in the offseason, don't sleep on the Raptors this season. They went 17-4 in the regular season when Kawhi rested last season, and they've always been a good regular-season team during the Kyle Lowry era. Thus, even if they don't possess the same top-end talent, they'll definitely come out and play with some championship swagger and win a lot of games. 

While we expect Toronto to come out firing on all cylinders this season, it wouldn't be at all shocking if they made a couple of deals to help facilitate a mini-rebuild around Pascal Siakam. If they could get a future first-round pick or a younger prospect for Lowry, Gasol or Ibaka, we'd expect Masai Ujiri to strongly consider pulling the trigger on a trade. Lowry also recently signed a one-year extension, which makes him easier to move to a contender around the deadline if Toronto decides to go that direction.

After finishing with the No. 3-ranked defense in the NBA last year, watch for the Pacers to remain in elite company on that end of the court in 2019-2020. Myles Turner should only get better as a rim protector and defensive anchor, considering he's only 23 years old. They also added an excellent guard defender in Malcolm Brogdon in free agency this offseason. If Victor Oladipo looks anything like the player he was before his knee injury last season, the team could have guys that play like All-Defensive Team players. 

Today's NBA has trended entirely away from traditional two big man lineups, and the Pacers will have an interesting choice to make this trade deadline: Do they keep the Turner-Sabonis frontcourt intact with Sabonis entering free agency this offseason? My guess is they pick one of the two and trade the other. Turner has more trade value, but Sabonis might be a better fit for a team that needs more of an offensive presence. It wouldn't be surprising if a team like Boston sniffed around both of these players. A Jaylen Brown for Turner deal could benefit both teams.

We hope that Oladipo has a full recovery and comes back even stronger than when he was before his ruptured quadriceps injury last season. That being said, Oladipo's injury is rare for NBA players, and no one really knows how he'll look when he returns during the second half of this season. Our guess is it will take Oladipo more than a year to start looking like the two-way athlete he was. He'll still be an impact player; he just won't be able to carry the Pacers on his own. 

Just as he did during his first season in Boston when he averaged 24 points and five assists per game on 49-41-89 shooting, Kyrie Irving will put on a show during his first season in Brooklyn. With Kevin Durant out for the season, the Nets will be playing with house money this year, and the entire offense should revolve around Irving's prodigious offensive gifts. If he averaged 27 points and seven assists per game, it should surprise no one. 

Assuming Kyrie Irving does dominate this first season in Brooklyn, don't be shocked if the young Nets surprise people by playing well enough to host a first-round series. Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and Spencer Dinwiddie are all talented young players who have shown tremendous growth under Kenny Atkinson. We saw that the Nets with D'Angelo Russell were good enough to scare a contender in last year's first round of the playoffs (76ers). The same team plus Kyrie and De'Andre Jordan should be good enough to win a series. 

Continuing with the "Nets are going to be good" theme, I predict that Caris LeVert will make an "All-Star Leap" this year. He bookended last season with All-Star-level play but suffered a gruesome injury midseason that put some of his progress on hold temporarily. I'd expect LeVert to put up similar numbers to his first 12 games where he averaged 20 points, four rebounds and four assists and his five playoff games where he averaged 21 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. 

The Magic are one of the "hot" teams in the East heading into 2019-20 with a number of analysts suggesting that Orlando has the potential to host a first-round playoff series after finishing seventh in 2018-19. The team has two players who have played like stars at various points last season in Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon and a roster full of solid NBA veterans like Terrence Ross and DJ Augustin. The swing players will be Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, both of whom have huge two-way potential — if they play well, the Magic could be very good. Consider me a skeptic. 

After making the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the Magic were not interested in rebuilding whatsoever — even if it meant they had to maybe overpay for their own guys like Nikola Vucevic (four years, $100M) and Terrence Ross (four years, $54M). While those two certainly earned the contracts they inked, neither is a needle-mover in the contender conversation. Vucevic is a low-end All-Star, and Ross is an above-average sixth man. They're worth it today, but three to four years from now, the Magic will regret having money locked up in both of them, as it will limit their cap flexibility.

Air Gordon has all the talent and athleticism in the world and has shown flashes of putting everything together. This will be the season we start to find out where his ceiling is — my guess is that it is as an All-Star player. Gordon averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists last season while playing above-average defense. I'd expect more of the same this year with a slight bump in his scoring and assist numbers, as he has been featured more and more as his career has gone on.

It looks like Markelle Fultz will, in fact, play this season for the Magic, as he has corrected the hitch in his shot enough to have it not crater the rest of his game. However, "corrected" is a spectrum. When you watch his current shooting form, it is not a fluid shot and has a low release point in front of his face. Thus, I expect Fultz to play like Rajon Rondo or Ricky Rubio when it comes to shooting from outside the paint — only WIDE open shots. 

Blake Griffin quietly had a hell of a season in 2018-19, averaging 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game and even shooting 36 percent from three. He was named to the Third Team All-NBA for his efforts. This season, Griffin should be just as comfortable as the focal point of the Pistons offense — the team has the same core as last season and should benefit from the continuity. If he stays healthy, Griffin will continue to put up All-NBA numbers. 

Drummond has led the league in rebounds the past two seasons and three of the past four seasons, and this season should be no different. I mean, the guy gobbled up 15.6 boards per game, which was two full rebounds more than the player with the second most per game. With Blake Griffin operating as more of a point forward than traditional power forward, the rebounding opportunities will continue to be ample for the foreseeable future for Drummond. 

Unfortunately, a number of things have to go right in Detroit for the Pistons to make the playoffs again this season. First and foremost, Blake Griffin must be healthy for around 75 games like last year. The team will also need Luke Kennard to continue to improve as more of a featured offensive player and will need teams like the Heat, Bulls and Hawks to not show any improvement this season. I don't expect all three of those things to happen.

After finishing two games out of the playoffs in 2018-19, the Heat effectively replaced Josh Richardson with Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. Assuming Butler is healthy, his presence alone should be worth at least five or six wins and result in a playoff berth. Moreover, while Meyers Leonard isn't the same talent Hassan Whiteside was, he's less of a headache and bad teammate, which should be a net positive. Finally, the Heat also have some assets and could potentially make a deal for Chris Paul, which would all but guarantee a spot in the playoffs. 

As he showed in the playoffs, when all the chips are on the table, Jimmy Butler is one of the best two-way players in the game. The combination of that and the increase in usage he'll realize as Miami's only star will propel him to an All-NBA season, assuming he's healthy enough to play around 70 games. Expect a season similar to his seven-game series against the Raptors in last year's postseason where he averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Meet #NBATwitter's newest crush: Tyler Herro. Every season, a couple of players will emerge as social media favorites. This year's candidates include the likes of Alex Caruso, Dion Waiters (as always) and Herro. He's an interesting player because he didn't flash the kind of one-on-one and pick-and-roll skills that he appears to possess while at Kentucky. It's somewhat similar to what we saw with Devin Booker once he got to the league. I doubt Herro has Booker's kind of upside, but he sure looks like he'll at least be an All-Rookie Team performer. 

The Hawks are the Pelicans of the Eastern Conference. They have a number of young, exciting players with star power, led by Trae Young and John Collins. Kevin Huerter recently nicknamed himself "Red Velvet." They drafted two nice three-and-D wings in De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, and they still have the ageless Vince Carter for an occasional "how is he still that athletic?" highlights. The Hawks are going to be a blast to watch!

Before you accuse me of drinking too much Hawks Kool-Aid, I don't think the Hawks can jump from 29 wins to the 41-42 wins teams usually need to make the playoffs. I think they'll be in the mid-to-upper-30s in wins this season. They'll give off a 2018-19 Kings vibe and hang in the playoff picture for most of the year. Ultimately inexperience will win the day, and the team will struggle down the stretch when it faces more experienced playoff contenders like the Magic and Heat. 

On the whole, Trae Young had a good rookie year for a point guard, averaging 19 points and eight assists per game. When you look a little closer, however, Young was an All-Star-level player in the East for the second half of the season, averaging 23 points and nine assists per game over his last 40 games and 25 points and nine assists per game over the last 21 games. He's ready to make a Leap and be an All-Star-level player.

Don't look now, but the team that we were making fun of for boycotting practice early last season is actually looking pretty good heading into 2019-20. Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, and Otto Porter give the offense some decent fire power. Thad Young, Wendell Carter Jr. and Tomas Satoransky should provide additional support as well. This roster is good enough to hang in the playoff race until the very end of the season.

After combining for 43 points per game last season (Zach LaVine put up 24 per game and Lauri Markkanen scored 19 per game), look for the Bulls' two offensively gifted players to continue trending in the right direction this year, especially Markkanen, who has some Dirk Nowitzki-like offensive skills. If the Bulls were to make a run at the playoffs, it would likely mean that LaVine and Markkannen performed like borderline All-Stars — something they're both capable of doing.

This one seems pretty obvious. Love is a championship player who belongs on a playoff team, and the Cavs have a shot at being the worst team in the NBA. It just doesn't match up. Love can't carry an offense, but he's definitely capable of averaging a double-double and providing some important floor spacing. Look for a team like Indiana or Portland to make a run at Love, and look for the Cavs to try to get a protected first-round pick in exchange.

Get ready for all your friends who don't watch basketball to tell you about how well Jordan Clarkson is playing this season. We are warning you: Jordan Clarkson is going to have some insane scoring outputs this season, and you might be tempted into thinking he's a decent player when he averages close to 20 points per game. (He averaged 17 per game last year.) Don't be fooled. He can get buckets, but he's a detriment to his team in all other facets of the game. Hopefully, the Cavs coaching staff and management don't allow his "get mine" at all costs mentality rub off on Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.

Take that headline as you will, Cavs fans. If you loved JR Smith's propensity to make highlight plays and go on torrid three-point shooting stretches, then you'll love watching Porter play this season. If you hated JR's propensity to make mental mistakes (forgetting the score of Finals games, fist-bumping opponents on the bench while his man cuts backdoor for a basket, getting suspended for throwing vicious elbows, etc.), you're going to hate watching Porter play this season. The kid is an enigma with an All-NBA ceiling and a YMCA league floor — just depends on how the Cavs develop him and how committed he is to the game. 

Last season, Julius Randle quietly became a starter on the "Good Stats, Bad Team" Team on his way to averaging 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game. Expect that trend to continue as he signed with the lowly Knicks this offseason who are low on playmakers. Randle's physique and ball-handling prowess will remind Knicks fans of the good ol' days of Anthony Mason...hopefully that's entertaining enough to distract them from the Knicks' overall record.

Morris has been adamant about bringing about a sense of toughness to the Knicks this season...and, boy, has he gotten off to a hot start on that mission. Many of you probably saw the clip of Morris aggressively swinging his elbows in the face of Justin Anderson, earning himself a practically unheard of preseason ejection. We expect more of the same all season from Morris, especially considering the fact that the Knicks will likely struggle all season. And nothing leads to frustration like technical fouls. He had nine last season. I'd bet it's in the teens this year.

This fit just seems doomed to fail. Fizdale was a long-time assistant coach with the Miami Heat during the LeBron James era and then a head coach at the end of the Grit-n-Grind Grizzlies era. Now he's the head coach of a Knicks team heading into a long rebuild after missing out on Zion Williamson and every big free agent this summer. This isn't what Fizdale signed up for, and Fizdale's impatient, whiny attitude isn't what this young team needs. Expect him to get fired or part ways with the franchise by the end of the season.

Here's what Hornets fans have to look forward to this season:

• One to two impressive dunks from Miles Bridges every game.
• One to two "heat check" games from Malik Monk where he catches fire and looks like the player the Hornets hoped they were getting when they drafted him. 
• A shoutout in a Zach Lowe column or podcast recognizing Cody Zeller as one of the best pick-and-roll screeners in the game.

Oh, and one more: A 14 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Draft because they're for sure finishing with the worst record in the NBA.

Here's a safe bar game you can play with your friends: Drink an adult beverage for every Hornets player you can name in 24 seconds. If you follow the NBA, you'll probably top out at three to four players max. Not only are the Hornets devoid of any recognizable NBA players, but they also have no exciting young players outside of Miles Bridges. (And if he wasn't sure an awesome dunker, they'd have none.) Malik Monk seemed like a potential star, but he couldn't even get regular minutes on the team during his second season — not a great sign for a lottery pick on a bad team. It's a real shame MJ overruled everyone to take Monk over Donovan Mitchell!

Speaking of teams trending in the wrong direction, the Wizards are basically last year's Hornets (a crappy team with an All-NBA level player). With Bradley Beal eligible for a max extension this season, the Wizards put the offer on the table - most expected Beal to turn it down, effectively demanding a trade and becoming a potential swing piece for a contender. However, Beal shocked everyone by signing the deal, which makes him ineligible to be traded this season and takes him out of the free-agent class of 2021. While his bank account won't regret signing on for at least two more years in Washington, we predict Beal will wonder what he was thinking when March rolls around and he's averaging 26-5-5 but losing every game by 20+ points.

If you take Bradley Beal out of the equation, the Wizards are right there with the Hornets when it comes to pathetic rosters, as they'll have a team full of has-beens (Isaiah Thomas) and have-nots (Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown, Rui Hachimura, etc.). Watching IT try to recreate what he was before his hip injury will be tough for everyone. And while the three "have-nots" could develop into nice players down the road, none of them is going to have an impact on the win column this season. Bryant, will likely serve as the Robin to Beal's Batman this season, averaged 11 points and six rebounds per game last season...yikes!

Slovenia’s favorite son put up 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists at age 19 last season despite being 10-15 pounds overweight. This year he has Kristaps Porzingis to pass to, Seth Curry to space the floor, six-pack abs and the voting power of 2.07 million Slovenians to propel him to his first All-Star berth. Plus, Kevin Durant has gone East, LeBron is a point guard now and our long national nightmare of LaMarcus Aldridge in the All-Star Game has to end sometime.

Dallas had a golden opportunity to add a max-level free agent this summer, and it came away with Seth Curry, Delon Wright and Boban. Those are fun players but not exactly the key components of a contender. If the Mavs were in the East, this is probably a six seed, but out West, you need a little more than Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell to put you over the top.

Mike Conley was a great addition to the Utah Jazz, which can absolutely compete for an NBA title this season. However, the competition for the Western Conference guard slots has only gotten tougher. Conley might be great, but can he beat out Steph Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard and Point LeBron – plus his own teammate, Donovan Mitchell? Besides, the Jazz need to put all their lobbying efforts into getting Rudy Gobert on the team, because they don’t want  his mom to cry.

With the signing of Ricky Rubio, the Phoenix Suns have an honest-to-goodness point guard for the first time in years. That means Devin Booker finally has someone to get him the ball, particularly outside the arc. Booker set a career high with 26.6 points per game last season, and that was with his career-worst three-point rate. His shooting will improve with Rubio finding him in his ideal spots, and with T.J. Warren gone, Booker should get as many shots as he wants. And as we saw in his  70-point game, Booker’s teammates will go out of their way to get him buckets because what else do they have to play for?

Minnesota hasn’t had a decent defense since Kevin Love was on the team, but this is the season the Wolves actually stop someone. They get a full season of Robert Covington, one of the league’s truly elite defenders, and they’re losing two bad defensive guards in Derrick Rose and Tyus Jones. Factor in more minutes for Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver, new young bigs Noah Vonleh and Jordan Bell occupying the middle and snagging defensive boards, and Minnesota has a real chance at being decent. Best of all, the T-Wolves are abandoning Tom Thibodeau’s outdated defensive scheme, which gave up a ton of open threes — the Wolves were 29th in opponent three-point percentage — and playing a defense suited for 2019 instead of 2009 will go a long way.

James Harden was second only to Bradley Beal in minutes in 2018-19, and Mike D’Antoni’s not going to suddenly start resting guys in what may be his final year as head coach. The Rockets lack of depth, particularly after Gerald Green broke his foot, means that Harden is the starting shooting guard and the backup point guard, with Austin Rivers the only legitimate backup. The presence of Russell Westbrook should allow Harden to conserve his energy playing off-ball on offense, while he’ll get his usual rest on the defensive end by only occasionally covering his man. 

Even before GM Daryl Morey pissed off China, the Rockets were going into the season with instability. Going into the last year of his contract, Mike D’Antoni failed to come to terms on an extension, after owner Tilman Fertitta submitted only a lowball offer of just one extra year. Once the feud went public, D’Antoni’s days were numbered, and if the GM goes, that’s all the more reason for Morey’s replacement to choose his own head coach. It’s tough enough being a lame-duck coach without having to integrate another ball-dominant guard like Russell Westbrook with James Harden and dealing with an international scandal, so if the Rockets stumble early, D’Antoni could get the ax.

In 2016-17, Russell Westbrook became the first player to average a triple-double for a full season since Oscar Robertson, and then he did it two more years. This season, he’s still going to score, and even while sharing the ball with James Harden, Westbrook could average 10 assists per game again. The problem is the rebounds. Westbrook’s teammates in Oklahoma City were content to box out and let him snag rebounds to help his triple-double quest and get the ball in his hands faster in transition. But in Houston, no one feels that obligation, and center Clint Capela has a contract clause giving him $500,000 if his defensive rebounding rate is above 30 percent. He’s not deferring to anyone, nor is P.J. Tucker in a contract year, and Westbrook’s rebounding numbers will plunge as a result.

A lot of Western Conference contenders made big changes to their rosters this summer, but the Nuggets’ only big move was trading for forward Jerami Grant. They kept their top 10 guys in minutes from last year’s 54-win team and added Grant and last year’s lottery pick, Michael Porter, Jr. This is not necessarily the best team in the West, but it’s easily the deepest, with everyone but Paul Millsap under the age of 30. That means they’re uniquely equipped to handle injuries or “load management” at any position without skipping a beat. Plus the home-court advantage of playing their home games at altitude is more extreme in the regular season. Oh, and having a 24-year-old all-NBA center like Nikola Jokic doesn’t hurt their chances either.

The Nuggets are good but they’re also young, which will derail their playoff chances in the second round once again. Jokic is great, and Paul Millsap is solid, but the rest of the roster was inconsistent during the playoffs. In crunch time, only Jamal Murray wanted to take big shots when Jokic was swarmed, with mixed results. And in the postseason, Denver’s weakest position, small forward, is going to get exposed against the big scoring wings like Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Paul George and Bojan Bogdanovic. Denver is still a year away from truly threatening for a championship. 

Oklahoma City went from aspiring contender to rebuilding team in the span of a week when it traded Russell Westbrook, Paul George and starting forward Jerami Grant. The Thunder might be going into full tank mode – Chris Paul’s maniacal competitiveness will make that a tough sell – but they’re not making the playoffs this year. Which is why dealing Danilo Gallinari, a 31-year-old forward in the last year of his contract, is a no-brainer. Gallinari is coming off a career year. He can play both forward positions, and he makes only $22.6 million, which is a lot of money for a regular person but only the 49th-highest salary in the NBA. If OKC can get a first-round pick and expiring deals in return, it’ll say “arrivederci!” to Gallinari.

Coming off rap battles with the Kings’ Marvin Bagley III and “Grown Ups 2” star Shaquille O’Neal, Damian Lillard will set his sights on a new target for his diss track efforts: New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball. Not only does Ball offer a wealth of targets — domineering father, Big Baller Brand’s embarrassing shoes, getting sent away by the Lakers — but Ball also can rap. Lonzo has experience with his own diss tracks,  aimed at Kyle Kuzma, so he’d be a worthy adversary, especially since his Pelicans will be battling with the Blazers on the court to nab the eight seed. 

Coming off their first conference finals appearance in 19 years, expectations are high for the Blazers this year. Unfortunately nearly all of their Western Conference competitors upgraded, and Portland decidedly did not. Kent Bazemore and Hassan Whiteside could be nice additions, but they lost seven of their top 11 players in minutes from last year, and Jusuf Nurkic is out until midseason. That means they’ll be relying heavily on young players like Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons to stay afloat. They re-signed Rodney Hood, who was a revelation in the playoffs, but he averaged less than 10 points per game for Portland after a midseason trade. Lillard and C.J. McCollum are both great, but there’s precious little around them. If one of their two stars goes down with an injury, the Blazers will have an uphill battle with San Antonio and New Orleans for the last playoff berth in the West.

New Orleans won only 33 games last season, but that wasn’t a true indicator of its talent, as the Anthony Davis fiasco threw the Pelicans' season into chaos. Since then they added shooting with J.J. Redick, a talented big man who doesn’t hate playing center in Derrick Favors and Ball, an exciting young point guard whose primary job will be throwing lobs to super-rookie Zion Williamson. Best of all, they’ve got a stockpile of picks and young players after their trade haul with the Lakers and some draft night maneuvers, in case they want to push their chips in and make a run at a star at midseason.

Paul George was one of the best players in the NBA last year, finishing third in the MVP vote. But in the offseason he had surgery on both of his shoulders, which are important for things like shooting, rebounding and lifting your arms above your head. He should get back to his usual dominant self, aside from the final minutes of playoff games, but he and the Clippers have no reason to rush him back before the games really start counting in April.

LeBron James averaged 8.3 assists per game last year, which would have been good for third in the league had he played enough to qualify for the leaderboard. King James is still dominant, but his shooting has been slipping slightly the past few years. His passing remains excellent, and if he could average 9.1 assists with the teammates he had on the 2017-18 Cavaliers, imagine how many dimes he’ll rack up now that he’s got Anthony Davis.

Alex Caruso may not look like a basketball player — he’s a prematurely balding baby-faced guy who weighs about 185 pounds. But he’s tall for a point guard, fundamentally sound, competes defensively, and he can knock down an open three, all qualities that have done well historically alongside LeBron James. Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley are the famous names, but by the end of the season, the unheralded Caruso is going to be taking their minutes.

Coach Steve Kerr loves the concept of beautiful basketball, focused on ball movement and eschewing isolations. But this year, with Kevin Durant gone and Klay Thompson out until at least the All-Star break, Kerr is going to have to hand Chef Curry the keys and let him cook. Expect far more pick-and-rolls, 30-plus points per game and a whole lot of shimmying.

Even with all-world defensive player Draymond Green holding things down, the Warriors are going to have trouble stopping opponents. They’ll miss the shutdown defense they got from Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, and the shot-blocking of Kevin Durant. The backcourt of Curry and D’Angelo Russell is going to give up plenty of drives to the basket, and new center Willie Cauley-Stein hasn’t been a great rim protector in his career before now. And when the small forward options are Alfonzo McKinnie, Glenn Robinson III and Jacob Evans, the Chase Center is going to see some rough defensive outings.

The No. 2 pick in the draft is an exciting ball-handler and playmaker who will excite the Memphis fans with his potential and frustrate them by occasionally throwing the ball into the stands. He will rack up plenty of dimes with his court vision and ability to break down defenses, and he will also make a lot of mistakes. Because that’s what happens to rookie point guards, especially on bad teams and particularly when their previous experience is limited to the Ohio Valley Conference.

Every summer the Phoenix Suns acquire one or more veterans they hope will turn their team around. And inevitably they start dumping veterans by the season’s halfway point. Last year it was Trevor Ariza and Tyson Chandler, and the year before it was Eric Bledsoe. The veteran shuffle will continue this year when they move on from Dario Saric, a draft-day acquisition from Minnesota. Dario will be a restricted free agent this summer, and he plays the same position as Kelly Oubre and rookie Cameron Johnson. Besides, the Suns just love trading dudes!

The Suns have been struggling to settle their point guard position ever since Steve Nash departed for the Lakers in 2012. They got a third team all-NBA season from Goran Dragic in 2013-14, but he was more of a scorer. Ricky Rubio will be the distributor that Phoenix has needed for years, with his defense providing a bonus. The knock on Rubio is his mediocre outside shot, but those shots are going to Devin Booker anyway. And it’ll be nice to see a player from Spain rocking the alternate “Los Suns” jersey.

In the 19 games after the Memphis Grizzlies acquired him from Toronto, Jonas Valanciunas averaged 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds in just under 28 minutes per game. There’s no reason to think the production will dip, as there’s plenty of frontcourt minutes alongside young studs Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. At age 27, Valanciunas is in his prime, so this should be a monster statistical season for him, and he might make Memphis change its slogan to “Grit, Grind n’ Get Buckets.”

The Warriors couldn’t pull of the three-peat in the Finals last year, but Lou Williams will do it this year with the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Williams and the Clippers have dominated this honor in recent years, with Williams winning two in Los Angeles to go with his trophy from Toronto in 2015 and Jamal Crawford nabbing two as well. The Clippers revamped their starting lineup with Kawhi and PG-13, but as long as Sweet Lou is paired with his pick-and-roll partner, Montrezl Harrell (third in the Sixth Man voting last year), the award is his to lose.

Phoenix was 29th in the NBA in defense last season, saved only by Cleveland saying goodbye to on-ball defense along with LeBron James. The Suns will be horrific again, but the combination of Deandre Ayton’s inexperience and Devin Booker’s disinterest is going to yield a lot of open looks. Phoenix gave up a ton of offensive rebounds last year as well, and new power forward Dario Saric won’t help on that end. Their only hope is Aron Baynes and Ricky Rubio import veteran wisdom and toughness, but that’s going to be a tall order with this squad.

The NBA’s weirdest award, Most Improved Player, goes to the player who displays the most improvement throughout the season. Practically, the award tends to go to a talented young player who gets opportunities and playing time. That makes Zach Collins of the Blazers, who should get ample minutes at the frontcourt positions, an ideal candidate. He’s already shown flashes of shot-blocking and three-point shooting, and we think this is the year he cuts down on his fouling, stays on the court and takes home the MIP.

Donovan Mitchell averaged 23.8 points last year, with the burden of Utah’s offense falling squarely on his 22-year-old shoulders. Now with Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic in the fold, Mitchell is no longer the only guy who can get his own shot. It also means he’ll take fewer shots, so his shooting percentages should go way up, given Conley’s passing and his ability to be more selective. Expect more drives to the rim and fewer midrange jumpers, as he settles in around 20 points per game and 47 percent shooting.

Before free agency officially began, rumors flew that the Timberwolves were trying to find a way to reunite Karl-Anthony Towns with his best friend, D’Angelo Russell. DAR chose the Warriors in a sign-and-trade, in part because Minnesota couldn’t offer him a maximum salary. Russell is an odd fit with the Warriors, seemingly redundant with Steph Curry in place and Klay Thompson returning in a few months,. What would make sense is sending Russell to the T-Wolves for young, supporting players like Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver, along with Jeff Teague’s expiring deal. The Wolves get a young star, the Warriors get to restock their bare roster and they get flexibility for next summer.

Houston’s been a dominant team on paper for years (just ask them), but to paraphrase Billy Beane, their stuff doesn’t work in the playoffs. Adding Russell Westbrook is an attempt to shake things up, but his game gets exposed in the postseason even more than James Harden. There’s a lot of good teams in the West, and the Rockets are already embroiled in chaos. It seems like a 4-2 first-round exit is in the cards for this team. For their sake, let’s hope it’s not another loss to the Warriors.

It’s easy to see how Luka Doncic and Kristaps Prozingis will fit together on the court, and Dallas was understandably drooling at the prospect of pairing the two for years. But Kristaps is a rare sight on an NBA court, much like the mystical unicorn that gives him his nickname. He’s played just 186 games in his four years, and after a year-and-a-half away from competitive basketball, it’s hard to expect more than about 50 games from him.

When Wilt Chamberlain averaged 8.6 assists per game in 1968, it seemed like an unmatchable achievement for a center. But Nikola Jokic has steadily increased his assist total every year, from 4.9 to 6.1 to last year’s 7.3 mark. This year Jokic is even more comfortable and the Nuggets have more weapons, and he’s going to beat Wilt’s number.

Coach Pop is one of the greatest coaches and worst sideline interviews in NBA history. But he’s also 70 years old and is coming off a humiliating defeat in the FIBA World Cup and a playoff loss where the Spurs failed to foul or call timeout as the clock ran out in Game 7. Coach Pop is in charge of the Olympic basketball team next summer, so he could go out with a gold medal. But the biggest sign this is the end of the line is his hiring of assistant coach Tim Duncan to be his heir apparent or just to hang out one last season.

It's not atypical for the Spurs to extend the deals on veteran players they like, just like they did with LaMarcus Aldridge. It makes sense for DeMar DeRozan, who expanded his game in San Antonio and might prefer the security of a longer deal with the Spurs rather than opt out and test free agency this summer.  Given the weakness of the free agent class and the uncertainty of luring stars to its city, it makes sense for San Antonio as well.

Tyronn Lue won a title with the Cavaliers in 2016 and then returned to the Finals the next two years. Then he got fired. This summer he was offered the Lakers job, but they offered him only three years and $18 million. Instead, he went to work with old friend Doc Rivers, and after sitting on the bench (and getting lots of national TV face time) for what promises to be a huge Clippers season, he'll have his pick of jobs after the inevitable flood of firings.

Derrick White had a banner season last year, particularly in the playoffs, but the return of Dejounte Murray is going to relegate him to a backup role this season. People may have forgotten in the wake of the ACL injury that cost Murray all of last season, but he was the youngest player ever to make the All-Defensive team just one year ago, at age 21. He's also a tremendous rebounder and a powerful dunker, and this relatively old Spurs team desperately needs his athleticism.

Sure, he's in the second year of a five-year max contact, but eventually Minnesota will realize the hard truth: Its starting lineup is better without Andrew Wiggins in it. And his best skill, getting buckets (albeit inefficiently), is much more helpful if he's coming off the bench. The starting lineup improves its defense, the bench has more punch and the Timberwolves GM, who didn't sign the deal, can hope Wiggins' deal is less of a millstone if he can thrive as a sixth man.

Buddy Hield came out hot in the first round of this year's Three-Point Contest but faltered in the finals. This year, Chavano Rainer "Buddy" Hield is going to All-Star Weekend and with his smooth, accurate long-range stroke (45.8 percent last year), an extra year of experience and motivated by impending restricted free agency, he is going to take home the title. It's about time Sacramento won something!

After their best record since 2006, the Kings added a group of veterans to round out the squad: Trevor Ariza, Dewayne Dedmon and Cory Joseph. But aside from Dedmon, those veterans weren't good last year. They may be distracted by uncertain contract situations for Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and they're also going to suffer the same regression nearly every team does after a dramatic improvement. We still believe in De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley, but this is a consolidation year for the Kings.

Poor Billy Donovan. He came one Klay Thompson three-point explosion away from taking the Thunder to the Finals in 2016 and then watched Kevin Durant leave town immediately afterward. The Thunder's playoff struggles haven't really been his fault, though Donovan also never got Russell Westbrook to buy into an offense. Now Westbrook is gone and Donovan will be too, but the Thunder will let him finish out his deal before choosing the coach to lead OKC's rebuild.

Brandon Clarke was an unheralded transfer when he moved to Gonzaga last year, but his college stats dwarfed everyone in the NCAA last year besides Zion Williamson. He may not make a lot of highlights next year, but devotees of Nylon Calculus and the "Dunc'd On" podcast will be framing Clarke's offensive ratings and defensive box score plus-minus numbers.

No one is happy about Chris Paul spending one of his last valuable years on the Oklahoma City Thunder, least of all Paul. The problem is the sheer size of his contract, which scares off some teams and is simply difficult to fit into a trade framework. The most likely suitor is the Miami Heat, if South Florida can handle the competitive Heat of CP3 and Jimmy Butler together, but such a deal is complicated. It requires Miami to bomb out before it gets the will to make the move. As for the Thunder, they'd like to get off the remaining years of Paul, but that might not be feasible until next summer.

Draymond Green had no triple-doubles last season and only three in 2017-18. But in the playoffs, with the Warriors missing Kevin Durant and then Klay Thompson, Green went back to his triple-doubling ways, logging six triple-doubles, including two in the Finals. The secret is the Warriors' reliance on a Green-Curry pick-and-roll, a play that proved maddeningly difficult for opponents to stop. They'll lean on that play, and Green initiating the offense all year, and Draymond is going to put up the best assist numbers by a forward since Grant Hill.

The Utah Jazz signed Bojan Bogdanovic to a four-year deal this offseason. Meanwhile, the Kings are far apart with Bogdan Bogdanovic on extension talks ahead of the Oct. 21 deadline. Utah needs more depth at the wing positions, Sacramento needs to get something back from its pending free agent, and Harrison Barnes is locked in at small forward through 2023. Could it deal him for Dante Exum and a pick? Milwaukee has two Lopezes and two Antetokounmpos. It’s time for Utah to max out on Bogdanovics.

Danny Green was second in the NBA in three-point percentage last year, and he somehow moved to a team where he's going to get even more open looks. He'll spot up on the perimeter, but when teams can't resist doubling LeBron or the Brow, Green is going to make them pay. And now that he's playing in L.A., that haircut is going to look absolutely normal.