Predicting 10 NBA Stars Who Will Dominate Headlines in 2015
NBA players find themselves in the headlines for plenty of different reasons. Changing teams, winning awards, winning games or calling it a career.
In 2015, we'll see a little bit of all that.
With the influx of money from the new TV deal set to hit in 2016, teams will take a different approach to free agency. We could get a first-time MVP or new league champions. And one of the greatest players of all time may be finishing up his last season.
The predictions here aren't ordered based on who will get the most attention, but rather, it's how they'll get attention. We'll start with the big names in free agency and player movement, move on to a potential award winner and finish with a possible retiree.
Draymond Green
1 of 10
There are three young restricted free agents—Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green—who will be in the headlines this summer.
Butler and Leonard likely aren't going anywhere.
Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta tweeted about the former, saying, "Jimmy Butler bet on himself and won, but that doesn't mean Bulls fans lose. Bulls will match any offers—if it gets that far—and it won't."
The latter talked about his contract after a November victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, per USA Today's Sam Amick:
"I don't think I'm going anywhere. I mean they love me here. I like the organization, and if it was up to me, I want to finish out with one team like a lot of great players have done, to stay with one organization their whole career and just be loyal to that. You never know. We'll see what happens next summer, but I'm pretty sure I'll be in a Spurs jersey for my whole life.
"
That leaves Green, who may be in line for a max extension on a team that can't really afford another big contract.
He's fourth on the Warriors in scoring, second in rebounds and second in assists. And perhaps most importantly, he's emerged as a key cog in the league's top-ranked defense.
But with tons of money tied up in Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut and David Lee, some other team could make headlines by landing the do-everything combo forward.
Marc Gasol
2 of 10
Likely the biggest name among the 2015 unrestricted free agents, Marc Gasol is in line for some huge offers from multiple teams.
His defensive reputation was established in 2013, when he won Defensive Player of the Year, but now he's showing off his offense during this contract year. His average of 19.7 points is significantly better than his previous career high of 14.6.
What will give him even more attention is the fact that the always-zealous New York media will aggressively follow his free agency. The New York Post's Marc Berman listed Gasol as a top target for the Knicks, saying, "Team president Phil Jackson is desperate for center to play in triangle offense."
Kevin Love
3 of 10
It didn't take long for rumors to start swirling about a disgruntled Kevin Love wanting out of Cleveland. Just a couple of weeks into the season, CBS Sports' Zach Harper wrote, "It should be no surprise that with the Cavaliers off to a slow start, the Love to Los Angeles rumors have started up yet again."
Berman had Love as a target of the Knicks as well, saying, "Again, if things collapse in Cleveland, the power forward is free and is intrigued by Jackson."
More losses will keep those rumors churning through the mill, even as Love himself is denying any desire to leave. He shared his feelings with ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike:
"Since I was traded here to Cleveland during the summer, I've said since day one, I'm a Cleveland Cavalier long term. And I plan for it to be that way, and I want to grow with this team. There's guys with a lot of youth, talent one through 15 on our roster that are going to be here for a long time.
If I could end all the speculation now, I would. But, you know, people are going to continue to talk no matter what.
"
Love can continue to say the right things throughout the season, but the media will still anxiously await the decision on whether or not he'll opt out of the 2015-16 season with the Cavs. If he does, the coverage absolutely blows up.
LeBron James
4 of 10
He can't possibly leave, right? Not after the outrage he caused in 2010, and not after the 2014 homecoming letter published in Sports Illustrated.
And yet, he can.
LeBron James has a player option after this season, and despite his promise to be patient in the SI letter, it's clear he and the Cavs are desperate to win now.
Let's recap.
They traded the No. 1 picks from 2013 and 2014, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, for Kevin Love. They shipped Dion Waiters for two wings who are older than him, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. And they traded two first-round picks for a dirty-work big man, Timofey Mozgov, to take pressure off Love.
That's three huge, win-now trades. If they don't pan out, and Cleveland continues to struggle, the speculation over LeBron ditching the Cavs again will become painfully loud.
Carmelo Anthony
5 of 10
It doesn't matter how bad the Knicks are, they're still going to get national attention.
Despite missing the playoffs in 2014 and trading their starting center to the Dallas Mavericks for pennies on the dollar, they were slated for multiple national broadcasts this season.
That attention comes from being in New York, the lore of Madison Square Garden, an inflated image of the two-time champion franchise's history and Phil Jackson injecting new hope with the promise of a reboot.
The player currently at the head of all of it is Carmelo Anthony, who's already been in trade rumors mere months after signing an extension with the Knicks.
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix was brutally honest about the situation, saying:
"Here’s a reality: The big market Knicks need to act like a small market team. That could mean trading Anthony. Melo probably has 2-3 prime years left. There would be strong interest in him from contenders that pursued him last summer (Chicago, Houston, L.A.) and the Knicks could recoup a draft pick or two, some young talent and shorter contracts.
"
The more the Knicks lose, the more realistic trading him will become, especially if the front office can't add one or two stars this offseason.
And as that noise gets louder, we'll see Melo all over the headlines.
Kobe Bryant
6 of 10
Speaking of storied franchises or players who don't really deserve the attention they once received.
The Los Angeles Lakers aren't quite as far off the rails as the Knicks, but they're still firmly entrenched in the lottery without a clear path back to relevance on the floor.
Whether loyalists want to admit it or not, Kobe Bryant's massive contract is one of the Lakers' biggest problems, and it will get plenty of attention again this summer.
The narrative will be a little different this time, though. L.A. will pay Kobe $25 million, nearly half the cap, in 2015-16, but it's the last year of his deal.
That will lead to tons of speculation this summer about Bryant's and the team's future. Free agents signed in 2015 could be Lakers beyond Kobe, the guys who usher in a new era for one of the most successful franchises in professional sports.
Kevin Durant
7 of 10
Like Bryant, Kevin Durant's contract expires in 2016, but that won't keep people from talking about it this offseason.
LeBron proved how appealing a homecoming story is to the masses last summer, and Durant would fit very nicely next to John Wall and Bradley Beal in his hometown of Washington, DC. Plus, the Lakers, Knicks and Thunder will be primed to make their own runs.
Rest assured, there will be plenty of reports, speculation and analysis in 2015 about which spot makes the most sense for Durant.
And don't forget the best-player-in-the world debate. If Durant stays healthy, leads the Thunder into the playoffs and the Cavs continue to flounder, this year could be the one in which he overtakes LeBron.
Andrew Wiggins
8 of 10
Durant and James are up now. Andrew Wiggins may be next.
After a pretty slow start to his rookie campaign, Wiggins is starting to live up to his billing as the NBA's next big thing. Just check out his monthly splits:
| MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | |
| October/November | 28.7 | 11.6 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 40.1 | 44 |
| December | 33.9 | 14.6 | 4.1 | 1.8 | 40.9 | 33.3 |
| January | 39.3 | 23 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 52.1 | 37.5 |
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote about the improvement, saying:
"From implementing new moves, like post-ups, to tightening up the go-to ones he entered the league with, like step-backs, pull-ups and spins, we're starting to see Wiggins build and sharpen up his repertoire.
Over the last few weeks, Wiggins' production is simply proof that his offensive punch can do some damage. The next step is being able to pick and choose when and where to throw it.
"
If he can maintain his play from January, or continue to improve, Wiggins will win Rookie of the Year in a landslide and add more fuel to the talk about his seemingly unlimited ceiling.
James Harden
9 of 10
This slide will go further out on a ledge than any other in the article. The league's MVP always gets headlines, and James Harden could take the award in 2015.
Consider what he's done so far this season:
| Rank | ||
| Win Shares | 7.4 | 1st |
| Player Efficiency Rating | 26.3 | 4th |
| Points | 26.8 | 1st |
| Assists | 6.7 | 11th |
| Steals | 1.9 | 7th |
And those numbers only tell part of the story. Three of Houston's opening-day starters have missed significant time. Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley have each sat out 12 games. Terrence Jones only played in four.
Harden not only kept the Rockets afloat, he kept them in the playoff picture in the brutally competitive Western Conference. They're currently in fifth place and just 4.5 games behind the top-seeded Warriors.
It would be impossible to argue that Houston would be in the same position without Harden.
Tim Duncan
10 of 10
Tim Duncan hasn't announced whether or not he'll retire, but it's hard to ignore the signs.
He's 38 years old, in the last year of his contract and has already cemented his place in league history with five titles and accolades galore.
He's a 14-time All-Star, three-time Finals MVP, two-time league MVP and has made 28 All-NBA or All-Defense teams.
When he retires, it will be big news. And 2015 could very well be the year. Enjoy his excellence while it lasts, folks. He won't be around much longer.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Jan. 8, 2015.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
