10 Burning Questions We Want Answered at 2014 NBA Media Days
The start of the 2014-15 NBA season is so near, you can almost hear the dribbles, shoe squeaks, swishes and whistles if you listen closely enough.
But there's another symphony of sounds coming hoop heads' way even sooner. It's the snapping of camera shutters, the boisterous boasting of offseason physical transformations and the unwavering optimism that spills out of the NBA media days.
It's also hopefully the answering of 10 smoldering questions that could change the shape of the basketball landscape.
Between the transition of All-Star faces to new places, the return of some high-ranking members of NBA royalty and the reality of expectations changing for better or worse, there are a number of worthwhile stories to follow—none more important than these 10 topics.
Are Any Contract Extensions Coming for the Rest of 2011 Draft Class?
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So far, the 2011 NBA draft class has collected $90 million in contract extensions. Of course, all of that money went to two-time All-Star Kyrie Irving as part of a five-year pact with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Will any of his classmates feel nearly as fortunate?
Well, Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard certainly looks like a qualified candidate. The 23-year-old is a two-way force who has experienced impressive growth in both usage and efficiency over his first three seasons. The San Antonio Spurs' selfless system limits his raw numbers a bit, but advanced statistics capture his true value to the team.
"In the last decade, just 20 first-round picks have produced as many win shares as Leonard through three seasons," wrote NBC Sports' Dan Feldman. "So far, 15 of those 20 have received max deals—14 by extension."
Leonard seems like he'll get paid, as does Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson. The sharpshooting Splash Brother's stock is soaring after a strong showing with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, and it wasn't exactly hurting to begin with after an 18.4 points-per-game campaign last season.
Other possible extension candidates include Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets), Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic), Reggie Jackson (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls).
How Will Depleted Rockets Try to Avoid a Significant Step Back?
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It was a costly summer for the Houston Rockets and not in the way they had hoped.
The franchise was ready to spend and sacrifice to bring general manager Daryl Morey's superstar vision together. Key reserves Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin were cut loose in pursuit of Morey's master plan, which involved luring Chris Bosh away from the Miami Heat and re-signing versatile forward Chandler Parsons, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported.
But Bosh opted against leaving South Beach, and the Rockets deemed Parsons' three-year, $46 million offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks too rich for their blood.
Houston lost three of coach Kevin McHale's top seven rotation players, and only one of its external additions seems like a lock to fill one of those spots (Trevor Ariza). Others, including veteran Jason Terry and rookies Kostas Papanikolaou, Clint Capela and Nick Johnson, could factor into the equation, but there are question marks surrounding each of them.
The Rockets are banking on two things: their incumbent superstars and organic growth. In James Harden and Dwight Howard, the team has a potent offensive weapon and a dominant defensive force. Both are capable of taking games over on their own, a trait that could help Houston avoid disaster.
Are Harden and Howard planning to pick up the slack on their own? Or do the Rockets feel they've added enough through their offseason pickups and the continued development of young players like Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas?
Does Klay Thompson Realize How High His Bar Has Been Set?
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Last season, Klay Thompson probably didn't get enough attention for what he brought to the hardwood.
That won't happen again.
This year, he'll be the guy Golden State didn't trade for Kevin Love. While the actual story behind the trade-that-wasn't is more complex, that is the element casual fans will carry into this season.
That means Thompson needs to play at a high enough level to help justify Golden State's decision. All eyes will be on him, and the expectations won't be easy to meet considering his roles—floor-spacer, perimeter stopper—may not be conducive to statistical growth.
The Warriors value his skill set, perhaps to the point of putting a max-contract offer in front of him. Their executives haven't publicly crossed that bridge, but they haven't masked their appreciation of Thompson, either.
"We value him in the highest way, and we want to keep him on this team for a long time," general manager Bob Myers said, via Bay Area News Group's Diamond Leung.
Right or not, the perception is that Golden State sees star potential in Thompson. So, fair or not, that is the bar people will expect him to meet this season.
Does he feel that heat from the outside? Would he even tell us if he did? Hopefully, he can shed some light on what a prominent offseason means for his next campaign.
How Much Pressure Do Clippers, Thunder Feel to Make Title Run?
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The Oklahoma City Thunder have won at least 67 percent of their games during each of the last three seasons. The Los Angeles Clippers are 153-77 since Chris Paul arrived in 2011.
These are two of the NBA's top teams and both on the short list of full-fledged contenders. But championship windows don't stay open forever, and each of these Western Conference powers may be running short on time to realize their full potential.
It's strange to think of the Thunder—led by 25-year-olds Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—as being under the gun, but we know enough to feel their pressure to perform.
"We know that is' Kevin Durant's seventh season and his sixth with Russell Westbrook," Grantland's Bill Simmons wrote in May. "... We know Durant's contract expires in 2016, and Westbrook's deal expires one year later. We know Westbrook endured three knee surgeries in the past 12 months."
The Clippers could be feeling even more heat.
This might be as well as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin ever complement each other, with the former still clinging to his prime and the latter racing into his. This could also be the last season DeAndre Jordan suits up alongside these two, as the athletic center is slated for unrestricted free agency next summer.
How these clubs approach questions of expectations could give us some clues as to how much pressure they feel to perform. Are they willing to openly embrace their ticking championship clocks, or will they deflect questions about their future uncertainties?
Both seem to have the right pieces to the puzzle, but how quickly do they think they need to come together?
What Happens Next for the Atlanta Hawks?
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The Atlanta Hawks' offseason schedule seemed simple enough: get All-Star big man Al Horford healthy, find the right way to use the 15th pick, address some needs with their free-agent funds.
The summer went largely according to plan.
The Hawks spent the 15th selection on Adreian Payne, giving coach Mike Budenholzer another versatile big he should be able to use right away. Free-agent investments were made in perimeter defenders Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore, the former a steady veteran with playoff experience and the latter an athletic 25-year-old with upside.
But off the court, this offseason has taken the franchise through some troubling twists.
Atlanta is searching for new ownership after Bruce Levenson announced he would sell his controlling interest because of a racially charged email he sent that he called "inappropriate and offensive" in a team release.
General manager Danny Ferry remains on an indefinite leave of absence following the racist comments he repeated about free agent Luol Deng during a June conference call with team officials.
The road ahead for the Hawks remains uncertain.
Budenholzer, for now, has been granted control of the team's basketball operations. His balancing act is a tough one to pull off, as he'll try to be both Atlanta's present-focused coach and forward-thinking executive.
It will be interesting to hear how he plans to approach things and who he can lean on to help him through the process.
Where Will Spurs Find Their Fuel This Season?
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The San Antonio Spurs had reasons to be angry last year.
Not only had the basketball world largely slept on another one of the team's 50-win seasons, its 15th in a row, the franchise also had revenge to exact after an excruciating loss in the 2013 NBA Finals.
Before the series started, the typically soft-spoken Tim Duncan did nothing to hide his club's motivation.
"We're happy to be back here this year," Duncan told reporters. "We're happy to have another opportunity at it. We're happy that it's the Heat again. ... We've got that bad taste in our mouths still. Hopefully, we'll be ready to take it this time."
It's safe to say they were ready. The Spurs systematically dismantled the Miami Heat in five games, racking up their four wins in the series by an average margin of victory of 18 points.
San Antonio still has all of its pieces in place, but that driving force is gone.
"I'm worried for one reason," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, via Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. "They are human beings. They are going to feel satisfied."
So, how do Pop and his players plan to combat that feeling? How can they manufacture the same hunger that powered them through last season?
The franchise does have a chance to make history, as it has never before claimed consecutive titles. Whether that serves as the same spark for the Spurs could determine how active the Alamo City's parade planners will be next summer.
Are Rajon Rondo's Days Numbered in Boston?
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With the Boston Celtics stuck in a rebuilding project and 28-year-old floor general Rajon Rondo entering the final year of his contract, expect his future with the franchise to be discussed ad nauseam at the team's media day.
Just don't plan on hearing anything definitive.
As Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher explained, this story has a number of different layers to it—none of which lead to any sort of certainty:
"Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has repeatedly dismissed trade rumors involving Rondo. Yet practically every NBA executive outside of Boston I've spoken to says Ainge has made Rondo available to them. Rondo, meanwhile, has repeatedly said how much he treasures being a Celtic, but he's never hid the fact that if the franchise doesn't want him he'd be OK going elsewhere.
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There are arguments to be made on both sides of the coin.
Most rebuilding clubs are searching for a centerpiece. The Celtics already have one in the four-time All-Star and two-time assists champ.
But Boston also has a potential replacement for Rondo in rookie Marcus Smart, plus the very real possibility that this team won't have the opportunity to compete at a high level until Rondo is past his prime.
The fact that Rondo has just 30 games under his belt since suffering a torn ACL in January 2013 doesn't make things any easier to read. Even if the Celtics would like to move him, they need him to restore his trade value to a level that would make the exchange worthwhile.
What Does Kobe Bryant Expect out of New-Look Lakers?
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The Los Angeles Lakers were awful last season.
The brutal hand they were dealt left them light on talent and even shorter on healthy bodies. Kobe Bryant made just six appearances, first returning from a torn Achilles and then suffering a fractured tibia. Steve Nash played 15 games, as the 40-year-old dealt with a nasty nerve injury that stemmed from a broken leg he suffered the previous season.
The Lakers set a franchise record for losses (55) and posted their second-lowest winning percentage ever (.329). The uber-competitive Bryant couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.
"I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena," Bryant said, via Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News. "I'm just on edge all the time."
With the offseason arrivals of Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin and rookie Julius Randle, the Lakers should be better this season. Of course, in the fully loaded Western Conference, being better might not cut it.
Not when Bryant has a legacy to build. And not when head coach Byron Scott is hanging championship hopes on a club with no chance of realizing them.
So, what is the Mamba's mindset heading into his 19th NBA season? Will signs of progress be enough, or will he aim for the type of success that simply seems out of this squad's reach?
How Close Is This Derrick Rose to the Old One?
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Don't let the numbers—or lack thereof—fool you.
Derrick Rose's run with Team USA was a resounding success.
"I still have to get my rhythm back," Rose said, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. "But as far as I'm concerned, I think I performed good."
Performance-wise, Rose wasn't good. Far from it, in fact. In nine games at the World Cup, he shot just 25.4 percent from the field and misfired on all but one of his 19 three-point attempts.
However, the biggest news was that he played all nine games, never logging fewer than 13 minutes. For a player with only 10 games to show for the last two seasons combined, simply getting him on the floor and keeping him there was progress.
Of course, with thoughts of a world title breezing through the Windy City, the Chicago Bulls will need more than a healthy Rose.
They'll need a productive Rose. If it's not the one who averaged 22.7 points and 7.1 assists over a three-year span before his knee troubles began with a torn ACL in April 2012, it better be something close to it.
The Bulls appear to have all of the necessary ingredients of a championship recipe but only if Rose is leading the way as the explosive, productive, two-way power fans remember.
How close does he feel to that level? Perhaps more importantly, how badly do the Bulls think they need him to get there in order to reach the game's greatest summit?
How Do the Cavaliers Envision Their Offensive Pecking Order?
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It sounds like the best "problem" to have, and it just might be.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by first-year coach David Blatt, must figure out how to distribute touches between a four-time MVP (LeBron James), a two-time All-NBA selection (Kevin Love) and the reigning MVP of both the NBA All-Star Game and the FIBA World Cup (Kyrie Irving).
The trio, while all suiting up for separate teams, tallied 74 points, 23 rebounds and 16.8 assists on a nightly basis last season. James alone posted 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists, the type of production every coach dreams of getting from his No. 1 option.
James might lose a few of those numbers, but his status isn't in jeopardy. The roles played by Irving and Love, though, could change dramatically.
Both have been franchise faces before, Irving with the Cavs and Love with the Minnesota Timberwolves. But they have never shared the floor with a talent like James—let alone one another—nor tested their abilities on the postseason stage.
All of that changes this season. So, who will take a backseat to whom, and how quickly do those sacrifices need to be made?
All three of these players may be served smaller portions of offensive responsibility than ever before, but the biggest share should still be earmarked for James. It's up to the Cavs' secondary stars to figure out how to split the leftovers.
Unless otherwise noted statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
