25 Biggest Storylines to Watch for the 2012-13 NBA Season

The start of the NBA season is still nearly three months away, but it seems that excitement is already starting to build for the guys to get back to the hardwood.

For the most part, the offseason is over and done with in terms of free-agent signings and player movement, with just a trade here and there and a handful more free agents changing teams, besides teams signing the last of their draft picks and doling out final roster spots.

That means the only thing we've got standing between us and a full season of professional basketball is training camps, a handful of preseason games and a national anthem before the first game tips off on October 30th.

So, as a bit of a teaser to get you all even more excited for something that's still nearly a quarter of a year away, let's go ahead and take a look at the most intriguing, exciting and maddeningly interesting aspects of the upcoming NBA season.

25. Jamal Crawford and Lamar Odom Going for a Bounce-Back

The Los Angeles Clippers have put a lot of eggs in some pretty fragile baskets, but if it should work out for them, then it could pay back in spades with two former Sixth Man of the Year Award winners on their squad.

Jamal Crawford, for starters, was terrible last season. Crawford shot well below 40 percent and posted a three-point percentage below 31 percent in a disastrous season in Portland.

Lamar Odom, meanwhile, was even worse. The big man shot just 35 percent and averaged just four rebounds a game, a number that is less than half of what he normally averages.

Los Angeles seems a bit cocky to think that both of these guys will bounce back well enough to help improve their team, but if it should work out, then we'll all be singing a different tune.

24. Ray Allen Faces Boston

It's going to be a predictable reaction from the Boston crowd when Miami finally travels to Boston, with intermittent applause mixed with upset booing from a half-drunk Garden, but the reaction of the Celtics players is going to be more interesting on opening night.

Will the notoriously hot-headed Kevin Garnett take Allen's departure as a slight and look at him as a ring-chaser, possibly giving him a hard foul if he comes into the lane? Will Rajon Rondo get a bit chippy with him if he rotates over to defend him? Will we make a bigger deal out of this than necessary?

The first two I can't answer, but that last question is a definite yes. This will still be an interesting thing to watch nonetheless.

23. Dallas' Cobbled-Together Lineup

After pooh-poohing the Mavericks lineup for a few weeks after they've done their best to put together a team full of one-year contracts in hopes of doing better during the 2013 offseason, I've suddenly become intrigued with what they've done.

Surely Chris Kaman is an improvement offensively at center for them, while Elton Brand is going to be an interesting character coming off the bench, but their backcourt is really where the intrigue comes from.

Darren Collison gets the reins of the offense, but will that work out alongside O.J. Mayo, who seemingly left Memphis to get more freedom on offense?

Oh, and they've re-signed Delonte West, who continues to be one of my favorite players in the league to watch.

This isn't going to be a championship contender, but it should be fun to watch.

22. Kyrie Irving's Sophomore Year

It's safe to say that Kyrie Irving outplayed everyone's expectations last season. It's not that he shouldn't have won the Rookie of the Year Award; it's that he shouldn't have blown the competition out of the water.

Irving was given a few weeks of a training camp and an exhibition game or two, and then he was handed the Cleveland Cavaliers. 51 games later and he looks to be the real deal.

Sophomore seasons are always interesting, as we have an expectation for players at this point, but we know nothing about how each player changes from year to year. We'll expect similar scoring numbers, better assist totals and perhaps some improved defense from Kyrie, but can we be sure that we'll see?

It should be an interesting development to keep an eye on, and a reason to watch the Cavs at the very least.

21. Golden State's Maddeningly Interesting Team

I'm afraid to put it in words where it can come back to haunt me, but this Golden State Warriors team could make the playoffs, and pretty easily.

With a squad that seemingly goes seven players deep on a bad day, the only thing out there that should have a shot at derailing the Warriors is ankles rolling, backs spasming and disks bulging.

However, with improved defense thanks to Andrew Bogut's arrival, improvement from Klay Thompson, an excellent backup point guard in Jarrett Jack and a sneaky-good free agent pickup in Carl Landry (for only $8 million over two years at that), this Warriors team could be good for 45 wins.

Now that I've said that, Steph Curry will probably have ankle surgery tomorrow and be out for the next eight months. Sorry, Warriors fans.

20. Brandon Roy's Return

There isn't a player signing that excited me more than Brandon Roy going to Minnesota this offseason. 

It's not that he fits in well with the team (which he should) as much as the fact that one of the most entertaining, hard-working basketball players is coming back to the NBA.

If Roy can bring two-thirds of what he used to be to Minnesota with him, then the Timberwolves made a good signing. At the very leas,t if he brings half of what he used to be, they have a guy who can splash a mid-range jumper on a pick-and-pop and be a high-caliber locker-room leader.

19. How Will the Atlanta Hawks Shape Up?

The Atlanta Hawks could be a top-five Eastern Conference team this season, or they could completely fall apart. How should I know?

It seems that the direction that they go follows the path of what they decide to do with Josh Smith. Should they keep him, they'll be a playoff team, although they probably won't make any huge splashes. Should they move him, it all depends on whether they go for a re-tooling package or an All-Star swap.

All that matters going forward is that, instead of an overpaid Joe Johnson on the decline and a maddeningly inconsistent Smith as the focal point of the team, they get to run through Al Horford, of whom we haven't seen enough in his time in the NBA.

18. Jonas Valanciunas and the Toronto Raptors

Call me crazy, but the Toronto Raptors have an outside shot at the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, all depending on Jonas Valanciunas of course.

From the looks of things, the Raptors have a highly skilled big man coming to play some ball for them, and if he lives up to the hype, then they've got a player who could become one of the five best centers in the NBA.

Aside from that, they've got a point guard who knows how to play both sides of the ball in Kyle Lowry and a bit of a wild card in Landry Fields, whose contract isn't an albatross until he shoots 26 percent from downtown again.

17. Sacramento's Skyscrapers

In other "crappy teams who are looking for a turnaround" news, the Sacramento Kings are some chemistry away from a playoff spot.

Think about it: They've got their offensive producers in DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans, two competitive young point guards in Isaiah Thomas and Aaron Brooks, some sixth man-ish scoring from Marcus Thornton, a spot-up shooter in Jimmer Fredette and now a defensive monster and high energy guy in Thomas Robinson.

The only problem is that Cousins likes to shoot the ball as much as the guards, Jimmer doesn't seem confident enough to knock down shots and their point guards are on the short side. Oh, and John Salmons is still under contract.

Still, don't sleep on the Kings. They could make you think that they'll make the playoffs up until about January.

16. Oklahoma City Matures

It seems like it's been a storyline to follow for the past four years now, but Oklahoma City is going to be taking yet another step forward as a team this year.

Russell Westbrook seems to know better now how to take over a game without earning criticism for shooting too much, Kevin Durant is more determined than ever, and the entire team has tasted the bitterness of defeat.

I'll go ahead and be the 3,204th to say it: This could be their year.

15. JaVale McGee's Goofball Factor Mixed with Greatness Factor

If there is one player who I'm psyched to see try to live up to his contract more than any other, it's JaVale McGee with the Denver Nuggets.

For all intents and purposes, Denver got a deal signing McGee for $44 million over four years, especially when you take into account how he played in the playoffs against Andrew Bynum.

McGee is capable of being a great player, and he's got a coach to keep him in line with George Karl, but it seems like the marathon of the regular season always turns him into a goofball quicker than it turns him into an effective player.

We'll see how well he can develop one side of himself while repressing the other.

14. Kevin Durant Goes for a Fourth Scoring Title

The last time a basketball player won the scoring title three years in a row was in the mid-1990s when Michael Jordan did it as an old man from 1996 to 1998. Kevin Durant went ahead and did that this year.

Now, the last time someone did it more than four years in a row was, yep, Michael Jordan again. This time it was in seven straight seasons from 1987 through 1993.

Durant probably won't be winning it four more years in a row, but he can at least beat the late-'90s Jordan and give hope for a few more following this year.

13. Rookie of the Year Race

A lot of people out there will have you believing that this isn't as much a race as it is a formality, that the league already has Anthony Davis' name carved into the thing.

I'll admit, it's going to take a lot for a player to produce enough on both ends of the floor to beat Davis, but that's not to say it's impossible.

Defensively, Thomas Robinson should be able to drop quite a few jaws out in Sacramento, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will probably get free rein more than any other rookie, being on the Bobcats and all.

Beyond that, we've got Bradley Beal with a shooter's chance, Harrison Barnes with an outside shot and I suppose Dion Waiters and Damian Lillard as dark-horse candidates. 

12. New York Tries to Make It Work

I can't say I'm a fan of the team that the Knicks have given themselves this season, and it seems like they've put themselves in a terrible position for the future, but that doesn't mean this is going to be a bad team.

For now, they've got solace in having Carmelo Anthony, who is capable of scoring 40 points on any given night, and Tyson Chandler, who is capable of anchoring any defense in the NBA, while Iman Shumpert will continue to improve.

Amar'e Stoudemire will continue to be a question until he proves otherwise, and their marginal players don't get anyone excited outside of Knicks fans.

Let's see how it works out.

11. Ricky Rubio and the Minnesota Basketballers

Is it just me, or does Minnesota suddenly become a must-watch team with the group of guys they've put together?

Between Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, who proved that they shouldn't be missed in just 41 games together last season, and then the unknown factor in Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko, you've got yourself four of the 75 most interesting NBA players this season.

Oh, and they've still got JJ Barea to rile some guys up, Chase Budinger to put down some terrific dunks, Derrick Williams to improve moving forward and the extreme mystery in Alexy Shved.

You'd better believe I'll be tuning in to some T-Wolves games early in the season.

10. Boston Regroups

The core remains the same while the guys surrounding them change, and for the better I might add.

It's going to be interesting to see just how much more Jason Terry brings to the table compared to Ray Allen, along with what the Celtics can do with their new young big men in Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, if anything.

Beyond that, they're healthy if anything with Jeff Green coming back, Avery Bradley back before 2013 and Chris Wilcox giving them a full season.

9. San Antonio Runs It All Back

I'm not going to be another guy shouting that the Spurs are too old for yet another offseason. It's been said every year since they won their title in 2007, and they've burned us every time. Maybe when they fail to win 50 games I'll start to doubt them.

This year, they opted to continue with the chemistry that the team developed by re-signing Boris Diaw, Danny Green, Patty Mills and bringing over Nando De Colo to see what they've got in Tony Parker's buddy.

Can we just give them 56 wins and a bye to the second round of the playoffs and call it a day?

8. David Stern's Renewed Swagger

After the lockout, David Stern was in a rut, and retirement in the next two or three years looked imminent.

A heated fanbase, a botched handling of the Chris Paul situation and lots of vitriol flung his way seemed to have him down, at least until the playoffs. 

Ratings were up, people were coming to games in droves, Jeremy Lin, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, the Nets, Knicks and Dwight Howard were all grabbing headlines by the fistful. Oh, and the Miami Heat were in the Finals.

Fast-forward to the NBA draft, and he's fully embraced the villain role again, putting on his Hulk Hogan headband and cupping his ear to the boos. This is basically what he's become.

Stern is back, baby, and if that's not good for entertainment, and the NBA by extension, then I don't know what is.

7. Jeremy Lin Outside of New York

Prepare for the rebirth of Jeremy Lin in the first few weeks of the season. It's going what all the news coming out of Texas will be about.

Regardless of whether he plays well or the Rockets win, Lin is going to grab headlines for months, and he could fizzle or bang depending on how well he performs.

Oh, and of course, get ready for December 17th, when Lin returns to Madison Square Garden to get booed. It'll be a treat.

6. Anthony Davis Starts a Career

He's got to be one of the most anticipated rookies since LeBron James. It's not that other guys haven't been hyped since then; it's just that since then there hasn't been a player to stand so far ahead of the other rookies in his class quite like Davis.

Beyond that, the Hornets are looking to cobble together quite an interesting lineup between Davis, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Austin Rivers.

If his playing time with Team USA is any kind of precursor to what we could see from Davis, get ready for a lot of alley-oops and blocked shots.

5. The Brooklyn Brawlers

The Brooklyn Nets had the most active and arguably the most effective offseason.

Instead of losing everyone on their team and heading into Brooklyn with Marshon Brooks and Brook Lopez like everyone figured, they went out and re-signed Deron WIlliams, Gerald Wallace, Lopez and Kris Humphries and turned the core of a 22-win team into Joe Johnson.

Between all that and a rejuvenated Deron Williams (and of course Reggie Evans coming off the bench), the possibility of a mid-season Dwight Howard acquisition and a new home, it could be argued (and probably should) that this is the best team in New York.

4. Derrick Rose's Return

It's not going to be until the waning months of the season, but it should be the most anticipated moment, and the most nerve-wracking for Bulls fans.

An ACL tear with modern medicine could mean little diminished in terms of explosiveness and speed, as we've seen from quite a few players, but it could also mean Rose loses some of what made him special, and we won't know for some time now.

Most Bulls fans are optimistic, but they'd be crazy to get too optimistic when their star players has gone under the knife like Rose. 

3. Mr. Nash Goes to Hollywood

Did ya hear? The Lakers are back to contending for an NBA championship. Thankfully, that one-year window of not threatening to win it is over. What a hard time that was.

Besides the fact that everything always seems to end up like a 1950s sitcom for the Lakers, if you're not excited to see Steve Nash play with Kobe Bryant (and even more than him, Pau Gasol), then you should give up on watching basketball.

I couldn't tell you if picking up Nash is going to get the Lakers past the second round of the playoffs, but I can tell you that it's going to make them a better team than they were last season.

2. What Happens with What's His Name

I'll go ahead and make this one short and sweet. As we all know, Dwight Howard has yet to put on a new jersey, which is frustrating everyone.

At this point, it seems as if Orlando is fine with holding onto Howard until the season starts, or even just a bit before then, to finally move him, which is fine as long as it gets done in a quick and clean fashion.

That is to say, this is going to be a long couple of months full of rumors and hearsay. 

1. The Quest for a Repeat

There is nothing else to talk about if there isn't the possibility for a repeat by LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Now that they've got that first win out of the way they can move on to their second of seven championships, as LeBron promised.

The Heat got better by signing Ray Allen—there's no doubt about that—but other teams in the league got better as well, and it's hard to say that they are forming a dynasty before they actually win another title.

Still, the rest of the league has to be concerned that the best team in the NBA last season is better than they were two months ago.

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