NBA Survival Guide: Best and worstcase scenarios for all 30 teams in 202526 Yahoo Sports StaffOctober 19, 2025 at 1:58 AM 0 How far can your NBA squad go this season? What if everything falls apart? Here are the best and worstcase scenarios for all 30 teams.
- - NBA Survival Guide: Best- and worst-case scenarios for all 30 teams in 2025-26
Yahoo Sports StaffOctober 19, 2025 at 1:58 AM
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How far can your NBA squad go this season? What if everything falls apart? Here are the best- and worst-case scenarios for all 30 teams.
East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards
West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • LA Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz
Atlanta Hawks
Best-case scenario: Trae Young is everything the Hawks imagined him to be, getting off the ball a little more on offense and digging deep on defense, and his effort on both ends sets a tone: The Hawks are here to compete. Jalen Johnson is an absolute star, maybe even an All-Star. They get a healthy season from Kristaps Porziņģis. Zaccharie Risacher takes a step forward. Dyson Daniels is a menace. Everyone else is rock solid, and Atlanta has a real shot at winning the East. That's right. They could win this Eastern Conference. Whether or not they can beat whoever emerges from the West is another matter, but who cares, for Atlanta hasn't seen a Finals ... ever.
If everything falls apart: Young is nothing the Hawks imagined him to be, prioritizing his own success over the team's. His business as usual on both ends stagnates the development of the young wings at his side — Johnson, Daniels and Risacher — and no amount of rim protection can guard against Young's carelessness on defense. Bad vibes permeate the locker room, and a trade is necessary, only Atlanta cannot find much more than nickels on the dollar. The Hawks take another step back in order to move forward behind a young core, which is not the worst of options, except that they'll need another point guard. And who is that guy? This is the catch-22: The Hawks may be damned to never win if they do keep Young and damned if they don't.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Boston Celtics
Best-case scenario: Jayson Tatum's rehab goes off without a hitch. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard look fantastic, taking advantage of the opportunity to assume more ball-handling and scoring responsibility by continuing to develop their games … which, as luck would have it, does not preclude the Celtics from being bad! The C's slip out of the postseason picture, landing a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Brad Stevens moves Anfernee Simons and/or Sam Hauser, avoiding the apron and loosening up the roster-building restrictions to give himself some wiggle room for wheeling and dealing as Boston prepares to mount a return to contention in 2026-27.
If everything falls apart: Honestly, it feels like the only "everything falls apart" possibility would include Tatum's rehab not going off without a hitch, and I don't want to entertain that possibility. This portion is over!
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Brooklyn Nets
Best-case scenario: Jordi Fernández continues to coax meaningful development out of the gaggle of 22-and-under players under his care, with one (or more) of Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré, Ben Saraf or Kobe Bufkin popping enough on the ball to inspire confidence that Brooklyn's got a real path to a point guard of the future. That development, however, isn't meaningful enough to produce anything more than the worst record in the NBA, guaranteeing a top-five pick and a chance at the type of potentially transformational homegrown talent the Nets have lacked since before Barclays Center even opened. Michael Porter Jr.'s podcast mic breaks and he can't find another one, no matter how many thousands of dollars he spends on Ubers.
If everything falls apart: None of the rookies look like difference-makers, but Fernández once again makes chicken salad out of chicken feathers to the degree that sicko NBA podcasters are putting guys like Tyrese Martin and Jalen Wilson on their 58-Name Most Improved Player long lists. Brooklyn once again wins more games than is clinically recommended, once again drops into the bottom half of the lottery, and once again enters the summer wondering if there's any reason to believe in, well, anything.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Charlotte Hornets
Best-case scenario: LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller play more minutes together this season than they have over the last two, and they look great doing it, with Ball marrying his gaudy numbers with more temperate shot selection and ball control, and Miller showing the kind of all-around growth that validates some of those eyebrow-raising Paul George comps. Kon Knueppel hits the ground running as a central-casting, high-floor complementary piece capable of spacing the floor and shouldering some shot-creation workload.
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With LaMelo at the wheel and those bright young things running the wing, the Hornets become one of the league's most fearsome transition outfits, sending them rocketing up the offensive efficiency rankings and sending play-by-play man Eric Collins into frankly uncomfortable fits of broadcasting ecstasy. Charles Lee continues to coax the defense toward respectability; in a shattered and shaken-up Eastern Conference, that's enough to get back into the play-in picture, and to give Hornets fans a reason to believe there's an actual plan at work, and that it's starting to work.
If everything falls apart: Ball can't stay on the floor. None of the failsafe options can keep the offense out of the depths of the NBA basement without him. Miller and Knueppel strain under the weight of the additional offensive workload they have to shoulder in LaMelo's absence. Despite Lee's best efforts, neither the offense nor the defense can climb out of the bottom 10, leaving the Hornets once again mucking about in the lottery and once again wondering what, if anything, they can build with this collection of pieces.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Chicago Bulls
Best-case scenario: Everything works just the way they drew it up around Josh Giddey — fastest pace in the league, launching 3-pointers like the Celtics, elite transition game and a top-eight offense, with Giddey and Coby White flirting with All-Star nods and Matas Buzelis stamping himself as a rising star, all of which is enough to earn a top-six seed and the opportunity to make actual playoff noise in a shuffled-up East.
Or, conversely: Things disintegrate spectacularly, resulting in one of the worst records in the NBA, the franchise's first top-three pick since Derrick Rose, and the chance to potentially land the sort of transformative talent that can actually spark a renaissance in one of the league's longest-languishing markets.
One direction or the other. Either way.
If everything falls apart: Honestly? Another year of "We kind of muddle around between 15th and 21st on both ends of the ball, nobody looks like an All-Star, we win 38 games and don't make it out of the play-in" seems like falling apart to me.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Here's everything you for the 2025-26 season.Cleveland Cavaliers
Best-case scenario: Donovan Mitchell plays as he did last season, using fewer possessions and maximizing the opportunities he does create. That allows Darius Garland to excel, and the two guards carry their chemistry into the postseason. Meanwhile, Evan Mobley is an absolute menace, wreaking havoc on both ends of the floor, even offensively, where his development is the ceiling raiser for this team. With another season in the system, De'Andre Hunter fills Cleveland's hole on the wing, and the Cavs win the East, giving themselves a real shot at a championship.
If everything falls apart: Same old status quo. Mitchell reverts to the player he was before, dominating the ball, and Garland cannot be maximized as a result. The ceiling for Mobley is lower than we think. He is still a top-flight defender but a work in progress on the offensive end, and that overlaps with Jarrett Allen. Hunter is not the answer on the wing, and Cleveland feels the pain of losing Ty Jerome more than it imagined, whether or not Lonzo Ball can stay healthy. The Cavs fall short of playoff expectations again, and changes are on the horizon.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Detroit Pistons
Best-case scenario: Cade Cunningham cements himself as an All-NBA mainstay, Ausar Thompson makes that leap, Jaden Ivey picks up right where he left off, and Jalen Duren looks more comfortable commanding the backline of the defense. The vets keep making shots, J.B. Bickerstaff manages the rotation well, and Detroit wins 50 games and hosts a playoff series for the first time since Flip Saunders was coaching Chauncey, Rip, Rasheed and Big Ben.
If everything falls apart: It turns out that Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. were load-bearing walls; even if Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson make for a wash talent-wise, their impact on the overall ecosystem isn't as positive or additive. Slightly worse spacing, slightly worse shooting, slightly less juice and slightly more questions make the margins in which Detroit thrived last year a little bit tighter. That makes it harder for Cade to cook and all the other youngsters to bloom, resulting in a team that dips back toward .500 and the play-in mix — an opportunity squandered in an East in upheaval, and an underwhelming result that muddies the waters a bit when it comes to figuring out which pieces these Pistons should be prioritizing moving forward.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Indiana Pacers
Best-case scenario: Pascal Siakam performs to an All-NBA level. Andrew Nembhard makes an All-Star leap. Johnny Furphy, Ben Sheppard and Indiana's recent first-round picks continue to develop. Rick Carlisle coaches them up, and the offense — even though it feels different without Tyrese Haliburton — is still marked by an up-tempo style that can keep pace with most other teams. The defense is just as stout, even in Myles Turner's absence, and they are right back in the playoff hunt, primed to contend again once Haliburton returns for the 2026-27 campaign.
If everything falls apart: In the absences of Haliburton and Turner, it becomes apparent Indiana does not have the firepower to compete with more complete teams, and the season begins to spiral. Bennedict Mathurin is playing for his next contract, Nembhard is nowhere near the playmaker that Haliburton is, and everyone suffers as a result. The Pacers struggle to recreate their identity and instead develop a new one: tanking for a draft pick.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Miami Heat
Best-case scenario: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Norman Powell form the foundation of a competitive team. Maybe not one that can contend. But competitiveness is key, and they always seem to have it in Miami. That competitiveness is contagious, and the Heat enjoy the fruits in the form of progression from more than one of Kasparas Jakučionis, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and Nikola Jović. They are more than just prospects. They are pieces that can both help the Heat win games in the near-term and sweeten any pot for whenever the next superstar becomes available.
If everything falls apart: The defense craters in the long-term absence of Jimmy Butler. The offense is no better, even in the presence of Powell, and the Heat are just meh. That meh extends to the younger generation, and there is little more than mediocrity from Jakučionis, Ware, Jaquez and Jović. Maybe they make another play-in tournament. Maybe they get a lottery pick out of the deal. But it's not a group that inspires a superstar to say, "Hey, I've been wanting to play in Miami, and now's the time. I could win a championship with that roster."
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Milwaukee Bucks
Best-case scenario: Myles Turner proves precisely the hand-in-glove fit Jon Horst and Co. hoped for, preparing the path for Point Giannis, who absolutely incinerates everything in front of him. The shooters make shots, the wings guard their yard, Myles cleans up the messes at the rim, and Antetokounmpo takes care of everything else, carrying the Bucks to 50-plus wins — winning his third MVP trophy in the process — and that long-awaited return to the late stages of the playoffs.
Pleased by the state of affairs, Antetokounmpo signs a new max extension next summer. Everybody in Wisconsin exhales.
If everything falls apart: None of the guards and wings look like championship-caliber pieces, and Doc Rivers can't perform triage effectively enough to find workable combinations. Giannis picks up a soft-tissue injury that costs him 15 or so games, and Milwaukee absolutely craters in his absence. The Bucks spend the season skulking around .500 and sputter out early — either in the play-in tournament or in yet another first-round disappointment — and, when it's offered, Giannis doesn't sign the extension. Everybody in Wisconsin holds their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
New York Knicks
Best-case scenario: Mike Brown coaches the Knicks up as one of the league's elite offenses and finds a way to field a serviceable defense, perhaps benefitting from the presence of Mitchell Robinson, who missed a good chunk of last season with an injury. Jalen Brunson maintains as one of the league's elite playmakers. Karl-Anthony Towns, who has reached the finals of both conferences the last two years, carries that confidence into this season. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby find some consistency as reliable two-way performers, and the Knicks are the class of the East.
If everything falls apart: Brunson steps back from the MVP race. He and Towns cannot scrape together a top-10 defense. Bridges and Anunoby are as inconsistent as ever. Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson are not playoff difference-makers. Brown is no better than Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks slam their heads against a sub-Finals ceiling once again, even in a watered-down Eastern Conference, and the outlook for the 2026-27 season is no better. Maybe they take another crack at trying to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but do they have the assets to get him?
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Orlando Magic
Best-case scenario: All of the health questions break Orlando's way, giving Jamahl Mosley the time, reps and raw materials with which to build a two-way monster; the Magic finish top five in defensive efficiency and top 10 on the other end, exorcising all the demons of terrible offenses past. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane all make the All-Star team; Paolo (who takes a leap in his scoring efficiency and inside-out passing) and Franz (who finally irons out the kink in that jumper) make All-NBA; Mosley wins Coach of the Year. Orlando blows past 55 wins, takes the No. 1 seed in the East, and rides a miracle season to the NBA Finals, as Kevin Pelton's Simulation No. 620 becomes blissful reality.
If everything falls apart: Jalen Suggs' knee is never right and, as a result, neither are the Magic. Banchero, Bane and Wagner all put up good numbers, but without Suggs' combination of elite point-of-attack defense, secondary playmaking and knockdown spot-up shooting, Mosley can't quite find the right combinations to be able to field consistently potent two-way lineups without exploitable shortcomings on one end or the other. The offense improves a little, but the defense slips more, and Orlando again finds itself futzing around .500, unable to break through in a conference that once seemed ripe for the taking — and wondering if it's gone all-in with a hand that ultimately might not be good enough to drag the pot.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Philadelphia 76ers
Best-case scenario: Joel Embiid returns to (most of) his MVP form, Paul George returns to (most of) his All-NBA self, and Tyrese Maxey makes the next leap in line, giving the Sixers the kind of bona fide Big Three they'd been banking on. With VJ Edgecombe and Jared McCain providing thunder, lightning and impeccable vibes in the backcourt, and Quentin Grimes connecting the dots on the wing, Philly soars back into the top 10 in offensive efficiency, and Nick Nurse schemes up enough advantages for the team to get back to league-average on the other end (and elite when Joel's manning the middle). The Sixers make everyone who loved their 2024 offseason look like geniuses, rocketing to a top-four seed in the East and entering April mostly healthy, setting Embiid up to make the kind of run we've all been waiting for.
If everything falls apart: Embiid barely plays, and barely looks like himself in the process. George looks less like the fire of old and more like the fire's gone out, that contract growing heavier and more burdensome by the minute. The young side dishes can't add up to a main course. Nurse's mad-scientist act fails to produce results, growing stale quickly. The Sixers suck again, but not enough, and hand something like the sixth pick in the draft to Oklahoma City. Night falls on an era in Philadelphia basketball; whatever and whoever is around to start the 2026-27 season will look very, very different.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Toronto Raptors
Best-case scenario: Brandon Ingram remains healthy and drives the offense from the bottom of the rankings. Scottie Barnes' development pushes the roster further forward, and everyone starts to believe in the ability of this group. Gradey Dick improves in his third season, and this year's first-round draft pick, Collin Murray-Boyles, is a revelation. The Raptors compete for a guaranteed playoff spot, and fans can believe in the future of this team again.
If everything falls apart: Barnes' development continues to stagnate. Ingram's impact is not what Toronto pictured when it traded for him, and the pick it dealt for him — the Indiana Pacers' first-round selection in 2026 — yields real value. Meanwhile, the Raptors are bad enough to make the lottery but too good to secure an elite pick. They are stuck in the NBA's middle, and that is not even enough to emerge from the play-in tournament.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Washington Wizards
Best-case scenario: Alex Sarr is a true floor-spacing, rim-protecting big man. Tre Johnson is the smooth-shooting scorer they imagine. Both are potential stars. Bilal Coulibaly is a complementary 3-and-D wing. Everyone settles into his role. And enough of them fulfill those roles admirably enough to think this roster could do some damage in a year's time. And in the meantime the Wizards cruise into another lottery pick to join them.
If everything falls apart: Nobody was worth his draft status. Not one of them. Years into their rebuild the Wizards are without a star in the making. Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum fail in their attempts to fill the void. Everything becomes about the next great hope in the draft, and that is no place a franchise wants to be, where there is no internal development and no hope for the next guy in need of it. It can get real bad, real quick in Washington.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Dallas Mavericks
Best-case scenario: Cooper Flagg is a franchise savior, prepared to declare himself among the league's elite. We know Anthony Davis is great. He just has to stay healthy. Kyrie Irving returns at some point midseason and plays himself into fighting shape. Klay Thompson is still a contributor. Dereck Lively II furthers his development and establishes himself among the league's best rim-protecting and rim-running big men. And the Mavericks are a real threat in the West, capable of beating anybody in a seven-game series. Whether they can do it four times is another matter.
If everything falls apart: Davis cannot stay healthy, and Irving never returns. The Mavs lose faith in their ability to compete in a loaded Western Conference, only D'Angelo Russell believes otherwise. A malaise in Dallas hinders Flagg's progress. And we emerge from this season unsure of both Flagg's ceiling and the direction of these Mavericks. Big moves are on the horizon, and Nico Harrison is at the helm. At least they own their first-round pick in 2026.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Denver Nuggets
Best-case scenario: Nikola Jokić remains the class of the NBA, winning that historic fourth MVP. Jamal Murray plays a full healthy season at the level we've seen him reach for stretches, finally earning that long-awaited first All-Star berth. David Adelman plays the right notes in the second unit, turning what's long been a glaring weakness into a defined strength. The Nuggets form like Voltron into an absolute war machine, turning in the NBA's No. 1 offense, winning 60 games, snatching the No. 1 seed away from the Thunder and storming to a second NBA championship.
If everything falls apart: Turns out JV, THJ and Bruce Brown aren't, like, league-shaking additions. Denver's still good in the regular season, but the same bugaboos persist: Murray starts slow and misses time, the non-Braun young guys don't pop, and the team still largely bleeds points whenever Jokić sits. The Nuggets struggle to rise above the din in the loud and crowded West, failing to get out of the second round yet again, with all the moves they've made ostensibly tantamount to just rearranging deck chairs; the front office starts to think seriously about whether bigger moves are required, and what kind of market they might find for Murray or Aaron Gordon.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Golden State Warriors
Best-case scenario: None of Steph, Draymond, Jimmy or Al miss extended periods, resulting in the Warriors finishing in the top 10 on both ends of the floor. GPII and De'Anthony Melton combine for something like a full season of havoc-wreaking, the supplemental youth — Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Gui Santos, young bigs Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post — gets in where it fits in around the aging tentpoles, and Mike Dunleavy finds a Jonathan Kuminga deal that bolsters the core. The Warriors finish with home-court advantage in Round 1 and, with a healthy Steph, a puncher's chance against anybody they draw in the West.
If everything falls apart: A roster carefully constructed around four of the NBA's oldest players crumbles when those guys do what old guys do: get hurt and miss time. Golden State looks brilliant for stretches, but only for stretches, and none of that supplemental youth proves capable of shouldering a heavier load. No Kuminga deal materializes, and the bad taste of this summer lingers over an underwhelming season spent scuffling for a play-in berth and that ends before April's out … and with Steph staring down his age-38 season, the end of the line looks to be approaching faster than anybody wants it to.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Houston Rockets
Best-case scenario: Alperen Şengün takes "The Leap." The Turkish big man has worked tirelessly this summer, working on becoming more comfortable around the perimeter, and gives the Rockets an additional weapon in the half-court. Houston's next-man-up point guard approach isn't Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard or even Kevin Durant with all due respect. It's Şengün as a half-court hub. The Nikola Jokić comparisons become less of a faint possibility and more of a reality. The tandem with Durant — along with improvement from Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and Sheppard — carries the Rockets all the way to the NBA Finals in June.
If everything falls apart: The Durant adjustment takes longer than expected, causing a negative trickle-down effect. Houston's half-court woes become exacerbated with Durant attempting to establish himself as the lead dog at the expense of Thompson and Şengün. The Rockets' lack of a true point guard continues to punish them through December, when they are forced to look for outside help at the cost of a key piece. Their talent is enough to get them to the playoffs, but a swift first-round exit has management reevaluating everything.
Alternatively, Durant missing a significant amount of time puts Houston's spacing issues back at square one. Opposing teams now have enough film and data on Ime Udoka's double-big lineups and can use their perceived strength as a glaring weakness.
— Read Kelly Iko's full preview
LA Clippers
Best-case scenario: An utterly unfazed and unbothered Kawhi Leonard plays 70 games for the first time since San Antonio at an All-NBA First Team level, allowing everybody else to fit comfortably into their complementary roles. James Harden remains one of the game's premier orchestrators, and Chris Paul ably serves as an understudy in his absence. Bradley Beal bounces back, John Collins seizes the opportunity, everybody else stars in their role, and Tyronn Lue pulls all the right levers. The Clippers win 55 games, finish with a top-two seed in the West and home-court advantage in Round 1 … and a healthy Kawhi leads them back to the Western Conference finals.
If everything falls apart: Kawhi gets hurt, and Beal thinks the cure for what ails the Clipper offense is more Beal. (It isn't.) Old guys do what old guys do: namely, miss time, and lots of it. Lue's press conferences start carrying a considerable amount of existential dread, as he tries without success to describe the frustration and hopelessness of coaching a roster that is just never going to have all the pieces there. The defense splinters, the offense sputters and the Clips miss the playoffs …
… at which point the NBA announces the results of its investigation. Which, since they're coming in this section, are really, really bad.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Los Angeles Lakers
Best-case scenario: Skinny Luka Dončić is the frontrunner for MVP. LeBron James remains healthy and conditioned when he returns, and in the playoffs. Marcus Smart is the Smart of old, wreaking havoc on both ends of the court. Deandre Ayton reverts to the player he was for the Phoenix Suns, anchoring a contender. The Lakers find some gems among the hodgepodge of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber and Jarred Vanderbilt. And they are capable of actually challenging anyone in the West (and, as such, anyone in the league) in a seven-game series. This is LeBron James and Luka Dončić, after all.
If everything falls apart: It becomes immediately clear that this version of the Lakers — the one with defensive holes throughout its roster — is no contender. JJ Redick cannot coach this team up. James recognizes that and makes it known through his intermediaries. He wants out, the Lakers concede, only it is difficult to find a team that a) wants to acquire a max-salaried 40-year-old and b) is willing to give up real assets to get him. Chemistry frays, and the Lakers fail to make the playoffs in a crowded Western Conference. Back to square one at season's end, which is not such a bad place to be when Dončić is your starting point.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Memphis Grizzlies
Best-case scenario: Ja Morant submits the most impressive (and healthiest) season of his career. Jaren Jackson Jr.'s defense returns, and his offense remains. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope enjoys a resurgence after a disappointing year for the Orlando Magic. Santi Aldama earns the three-year, $52.5 million extension he just signed. The Grizzlies continue to mine gems throughout the roster, and Tuomas Iisalo finds a way to field a top-10 unit on both sides of the ball. The Grizzlies believe so much in this group that they package their newfound cache of picks for another piece and find themselves right back on the fringes of contention in the Western Conference.
If everything falls apart: Morant either can't stay healthy or can't stay consistent enough to serve as the head of the snake. Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey stagnate or take a step back from their impressive debuts. Those gems throughout the roster lose their shine. Iisalo doesn't have a grasp on the Desmond Bane-less Grizzlies, and they lose faith in themselves as a competitive team, much less a contender. The Grizzlies fail to make the playoffs, and Morant becomes available via trade.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Minnesota Timberwolves
Best-case scenario: Anthony Edwards makes the full leap, establishing himself as a serious MVP candidate. Julius Randle's inconsistency yields one of his better seasons. Rudy Gobert is Rudy Gobert. Mike Conley is Mike Conley. Jaden McDaniels rises along with Edwards. One of, if not all of, Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon and Joan Beringer show real promise as potential impact playoff guys, masking the departure of Nickeil Alexander-Walker. And the Wolves are capable of winning the West.
If everything falls apart: Edwards shows little signs of progress as a playmaker. Randle endures one of his tottering seasons. That in itself could be enough to drop the Timberwolves a tier below the West's elite, especially as the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets have improved. It might be time to consider trading Gobert, if there are any takers, embracing Naz Reid as the center of the future and building for the time when Edwards is ready.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
New Orleans Pelicans
Best-case scenario: Lucy finally lets Charlie Brown kick the football. Zion Williamson puts it all together, playing 70-plus games, making All-NBA First Team, finishing on or just outside the MVP ballot and returning to the All-Star team … where he's joined by Trey Murphy, who builds on the leap he took last season before tearing his labrum. After playing a grand total of zero minutes together last season, Williamson, Herb Jones and Murphy form one of the league's most frequently used and potent trios, providing an elevated baseline and support structure that allows youngsters Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen and Yves Missi to get in where they fit in. Jordan Poole continues last season's resurgence, Dejounte Murray comes back looking like the star they traded for him to be, and the Pelicans ride a top-10 offense to a top-10 seed in the West — postseason participation that makes the pick debt to Atlanta less onerous.
If everything falls apart: Williamson can't stay healthy, the house of cards crumbles, the Pelicans took on $65.9 million worth of Poole for no tangible benefit, and they watch the Hawks take a top-five pick off their hands.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Oklahoma City Thunder
Best-case scenario: The Thunder remain healthy and roll through the regular season once again, becoming even more formidable in the playoffs. They cruise to a second straight title, and it is hard to imagine them not three-peating, all as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander establishes himself as one of the greatest players in history. His ceiling knows no bounds, nor does Oklahoma City's. The league belongs to OKC for the foreseeable future.
If everything falls apart: Simple: The Thunder do not repeat. The second apron comes for Oklahoma City, too, and the new extensions for Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams squeeze out some of that depth. They are not as formidable a trio without all those reinforcements, and the Thunder become just another contender.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Phoenix Suns
Best-case scenario: Devin Booker turns the page on the failed experiments of the last two seasons and turns in the kind of full-tilt scoring and playmaking season that us "Point Book" heads have been clamoring for, vying for the league lead in scoring while putting up career-best assist numbers and vaulting back into the conversation for an All-NBA spot. Jalen Green finds shot-selection and rim-pressure religion, blossoming into an increasingly efficient and exciting second banana for a better-than-expected offense. Mark Williams finally stays healthy, turning those flashes he showed in Charlotte into consistent two-way impact. The Suns grind their way to play-in contention; this time, that doesn't feel like a disappointment.
If everything falls apart: The vibe shift is short-lived. New coach Jordan Ott looks overmatched, the defense doesn't come together, and Booker and Green mesh about as well as Book/KD/Beal did — which is to say, very badly. Add it all up, and the Suns, elevated levels of scrappiness aside, look like one of the worst teams in the West. And with their 2026 first-rounder leveraged to all hell, no tradable firsts through 2032 and $23 million worth of waived-and-stretched salary on their books for the next half-decade, they can't even enjoy the fruits of the badness; the long walk through the desert is just starting.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Portland Trail Blazers
Best-case scenario: Scoot Henderson is the star the Blazers need him to be. Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe develop alongside him. Yang Hansen does, indeed, show flashes of his promise as the "Chinese Jokic." Jrue Holiday is a stabilizing force. Maybe he and Jerami Grant fetch something on the trade market. Either way, Portland has its young core and enjoys its rise, which may include the pursuit of a play-in tournament berth.
If everything falls apart: Henderson is not a prospect Portland prefers to build around. (Oh, man, what a killer that would be.) And there is the very real possibility that his pairing with Sharpe is one that can never yield high-end results. What, then, do the Blazers do? That they would have to figure out. Tank back to the bottom, where they can score another superstar prospect, or continue to build from the NBA's lower middle quadrant. Neither is much fun.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
Sacramento Kings
Best-case scenario: Everyone jells and plays to the best of his ability, and the Kings are a surprisingly exciting offense — one that moves the ball and scores from all three levels, including the midrange, where DeMar DeRozan is still king. They remain committed to defense, even if they are not that talented on that end, and they squeeze out another play-in tournament bid, with a real chance to emerge for a first playoff appearance since 2023.
If everything falls apart: The defense is so bad that the Kings stop playing the sort of offense that can win games and start playing hero ball. Everyone is vying for his next contract, only we can all see that, and none of their top pieces — Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine or DeRozan — holds any trade value. They hinder the development of Sacramento's recent draft picks, and there is little hope next season will be any different, save for another lottery pick.
— Read Ben Rohrbach's full preview
San Antonio Spurs
Best-case scenario: Victor Wembanyama stays healthy for the full season, muscling his way onto the MVP ballot and All-NBA First Team. De'Aaron Fox finds his flow alongside the big fella, returning to the All-Star team and providing San Antonio with the battery of a top-10 offense. Stephon Castle cements himself as the kind of 16-game two-way player with which the Spurs will need to surround Wemby; Dylan Harper wows enough in a limited role to keep everybody convinced he's the right long-term running buddy, and that whatever issues the Spurs have to navigate in the backcourt are high-class, champagne problems. San Antonio builds on last season's 12-win jump, surging to 50 wins and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, making it abundantly clear to all parties that the future is here, and it's French.
If everything falls apart: The expected reinforcements don't keep the wheels from falling off when Wembanyama hits the bench, drastically lowering San Antonio's ceiling. Fox's jumper and fit alongside Vic look shaky, leading to no small amount of grumbling over whether that 30% max might've been a tad hasty. None of the young perimeter pieces look quite ready for prime time, leaving fans wondering just how many bona fide blue-chippers they've actually got on hand. A season that begins with postseason expectations ends with another sub-.500 finish shy of the play-in tournament, and with the hotly anticipated coronation of the next big thing stalled once again.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Utah Jazz
Best-case scenario: Lauri Markkanen carries over his EuroBasket form long enough to remind a league desperate for difference-makers that there's one available in Salt Lake City, and the Jazz command a king's ransom for his services. The newcomer vets spend the season's opening months showing the kids the ropes before heading off to sunnier climes come February, in exchange for whatever pick compensation Danny Ainge can scrounge up.
Ace Bailey hits the ground running, looking like a no-back-injuries variant of Michael Porter Jr. — high-end tough shot-making, real juice as a finisher on the interior and in transition, complementary rebounding and rim protection — to establish himself as Utah's premier bona fide building block. Several other members of the 22-and-under crew — including, ideally, at least one of the guards — seize the opportunity to join him, allowing the Jazz to hit mid-April with both a bad enough record to keep their 2026 first-round pick and legitimate reason to hope they've drawn meaningfully closer to a return to competitive basketball.
If everything falls apart: Markkanen stumbles, gets hurt or both, scuttling any ideas of turning him into a bounty of picks and/or higher-upside young talent. Bailey struggles to get shots off against bigger, stronger, more athletic defenders, effectively neutering his impact. The rising sophomores and third-year pros all underwhelm, leaving lingering questions about whether any of the prospects Utah has drafted of late can be part of the next competitive iteration of the Jazz.
— Read Dan Devine's full preview
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: VoXi MAG
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