Every NBA Team’s Best New Weapon for 2024-25 Season
Every NBA Team’s Best New Weapon for 2024-25 Season0 of 30
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Fresh faces in new places abound throughout the NBA at the end of every summer. The 2024 offseason has already proved to be no different.
Entrenched big names like Paul George, Dejounte Murray and Mikal Bridges are donning new threads. Higher-end role players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Derrick Jones Jr., Tyus Jones and Gary Trent Jr. are in the same boat.
A plethora of rookies will begin their careers saddled with what should be prominent roles. Tantalizing youngsters like Deni Avdija and Josh Giddey are hitting the reset button in new digs.
So, let’s go ahead and spotlight the most impactful additions for each team, shall we?
“Impactful” will be our operative word here. In certain cases, selections will diverge from players who offer more long-term intrigue in favor of someone who figures to leave a more immediate mark. This caveat will be especially prescient for teams that have bagged top draft picks who may cede status to more established vets or fellow prospects in line for bigger roles out of the gate.
Basically, this entire exercise boils down to a simple yet salient question: Which new face for each squad will be most valuable next season?
Atlanta Hawks: Zaccharie Risacher1 of 30
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Dyson Daniels is a worthwhile selection here, if only because he has two years under his belt and wears-opponents’-skin-on-defense calling card. The Atlanta Hawks are also (currently) set up to give him more run as a second-string point guard than the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s interesting!
But Zaccharie Risacher is the No. 1 pick—and a unique one at that.
First overall selections are typically joining bad teams taking longer views on the future. They’re also almost always central offensive building blocks (unless they’re big men). Risacher is on a Hawks squad that has zero incentive to tank (San Antonio controls their next three firsts) a certified superstar in Trae Young and a roster that, while imperfect, looks good enough to compete for a top-eight Eastern Conference spot.
Immediate expectations could limit Atlanta’s stomach for rookie learning curves. But Risacher is more plug-and-play than main attraction. The Hawks can have him flying off screens, getting out in transition and cutting in from the baseline. His offensive utility increases tenfold if he’s knocking down looks from the corners and effectively stretching defenses.
The Hawks also need Risacher’s defensive motor. He has the size and mobility to take on a variety of different assignments, and head coach Quin Snyder can get fairly aggressive with his approach in lineups that feature the newbie and Daniels together.
Boston Celtics: Baylor Scheierman2 of 30
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Baylor Scheierman shouldn’t see much time for a Boston Celtics squad looking to repeat as NBA champions. Rookies don’t tend to take on big roles for contenders, and the No. 30 pick won’t fill a need unless the team suffers injuries or jettisons Payton Pritchard in a trade.
Still, Scheierman is the only option for a Celtics juggernaut returning the same exact core that just earned them a banner. And for his part, he does have a skill set worth exploration.
Proven shooters and passers listed taller than 6’5″ can always be useful. And while many are concerned how the 23-year-old will hold up athletically at the NBA level, he looked at home attacking set defenses, getting to his spots and generating some separation during his five Summer League appearances (lackluster efficiency notwithstanding).
Matching up with opponents on defense may forever be a challenge. But the Celtics are built to insulate anyone, and Scheierman could wind up being a sneaky presence on the glass.
Brooklyn Nets: Bojan Bogdanović3 of 30
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Pickings are slim for the Brooklyn Nets. We’re left to choose between Bojan Bogdanović, Shake Milton, Keon Johnson and Ziaire Williams.
Entering the infancy of a rebuild ensures the Nets will give run to projects like Johnson and Williams. There’s also a chance the right answer for this exercise isn’t yet on the roster. Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith will be highly sought after trade candidates from now until the Feb. 6 deadline, and Brooklyn could net an impact prospect or vet as part of any prospective deal.
In the meantime, Bogdanović is the clear answer, as one of the few proven contributors on the depth chart. His on-ball scoring ability has dipped with age, but he remains a dependable shooter who can generate his own looks in a pinch.
To what extent the Nets will actually play him is debatable. His primary value to the franchise will be as a $19 million expiring contract that allows Brooklyn to explore scenarios in which it takes back unwanted money attached to assets.
And yet, on a roster with a glaring lack of self-creation, Bogdanović arms the Nets with complementary spacing and scoring that can help optimize expanded workloads for Johnson, Williams, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas (already high-usage), Trendon Watford, Dariq Whitehead and Jalen Wilson.
Charlotte Hornets: Tidjane Salaun 4 of 30
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Others will roll with Josh Green for the Charlotte Hornets. He has an actual NBA track record and a realistic, if not likely, shot at beginning the year in the starting five.
Step out on this limb with me anyway.
Charlotte is clearly super high on Tidjane Salaun. And though yours truly would have preferred they went with Matas Buzelis or Cody Williams at No. 6, it’s not exactly hard to understand their perspective.
Salaun doesn’t turn 19 until Aug. 10 and plays with a motor that knows no quit until it burns out. At 6’9″, with a wingspan north of 7’1″, he has the tools to be an impact defender across a variety of different spots. Most of his offense needs to come in the form of teed-up looks off movement or in transition. That’s fine. Especially when you play with LaMelo Ball.
To his credit, Salaun busted out some nifty on-ball attacks and finishes during his three Summer League cameos. His touch from the perimeter looms as a swing skill—the element of his game that will determine both his immediate utility and long-term peak. And for what it’s worth, the form looks smooth, but it seems like he could benefit from speeding up his release.
Chicago Bulls: Josh Giddey5 of 30
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If Josh Giddey isn’t the right pick for this exercise, then woo buddy, the Chicago Bulls are going to have a pretty big problem on their hands.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas valued Giddey as a building-block candidate in the Alex Caruso trade. That belief feels like a stretch relative to what he accomplished in Oklahoma City. Then again, he’s about to have waaay more agency in Chicago.
Better options are still on the Bulls’ roster—most notably Coby White and Zach LaVine, not to mention a could-be-healthy Lonzo Ball. But LaVine clearly isn’t part of the long-term plans, Lonzo’s availability cannot be counted on, and White isn’t what you’d consider a floor general.
Giddey has everyone in Chicago flat-out beat as an end-to-end playmaker. The vision he displays when spearheading fast breaks or when getting into the lane versus set defenses is top notch, and a full-strength Chicago team should eke out just enough spacing with Nikola Vučević or Jalen Smith at the 5 to maximize his line of sight and in-between decision-making.
Scoring is more of a mystery box for the 21-year-old. He has churned out stretches as a capable spot-up three-point shooter and provided glimpses into an operable floater game, but his aggressiveness can wax and wane, and he’ll need to more regularly make defenders pay for going under screens if he’s going to pilot a consistently above-average offense.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Jaylon Tyson6 of 30
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Jaylon Tyson figures to spend a good chunk of time with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G-League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge. It should surprise exactly none of us if he ends up dominating during those stints.
The 21-year-old is hard-wired to make stuff happen on the ball. At 6’7″, he has the handles, body twitches and change-in-speed package of a smaller guard—tools he leverages into shot-making at every level.
His playmaking seems ready-made to level up from secondary to borderline primary. He can pick up his dribble too early before going downhill, but his patience once in the lane should translate nicely to kick-outs and lob opportunities.
Tyson’s biggest question mark is his ability to scale down. He posted a usage rate of 30 at California and doesn’t wow as an off-ball mover or shot-maker.
If he’s going to leave an imprint in Cleveland at any point in the near future, he’ll have to get more comfortable working in an accessory role.
Dallas Mavericks: Klay Thompson7 of 30
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Poaching someone during free agency who will contend for membership inside your most important closing lineup is a tall task—particularly when you’re not operating with cap space.
The Dallas Mavericks pulled it off.
Heck, they arguably pulled it off twice. Both Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall could make sense as crunch-time options depending on the matchups.
Thompson’s arrival should be considered more exciting. He isn’t the same player who garnered All-Defense consideration (and one selection). He’s also not the poster child for precipitous decline.
At 34, with two serious injuries in his rear view, Thompson continues to be someone who can get the job done from beyond the arc. Last year, he drilled 38.7 percent of his 9.0 three-point attempts per game—volume that ranked as the third highest in the league.
It isn’t just Thompson’s touch that intrigues but how it’s leveraged. He doesn’t have to sit in or lift up from the corner. He can still very much be utilized, in a vast variety of ways, coming off screens. If the Mavericks are able and willing to increase movement away from the ball, landing Thompson stands to significantly upgrade their offensive attack around Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.
Defense will be a concern. And Thompson can get a little too tunnel vision-y when trying to work on the ball. Dallas should be able to withstand or eclipse any downside. Marshall, Quentin Grimes, Dante Exum and P.J. Washington insulate Thompson against the toughest perimeter covers, and the Splash Brother will likely be more inclined to accept different functional realities (read: limitations) in a new setting.
Denver Nuggets: Russell Westbrook8 of 30
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Integrating Russell Westbrook is such a precarious proposition I considered simply defaulting to Dario Šarić. He is an upgrade for the back-up big rotation and has the playmaking chops to be used, in certain instances, as a Nikola Jokić facsimile.
Settling on someone who isn’t guaranteed 15 minutes per game feels disingenuous, though. Perhaps Russ falls under the same umbrella. But the Nuggets don’t have many alternatives behind Jamal Murray unless Jalen Pickett suddenly starts looking like an NBA player.
Skepticism is encouraged here. Westbrook’s fit everywhere outside Oklahoma City has been thorny. (It could get finicky at times on the Thunder, too.) Optimists cling to the same concepts: This could be the time Westbrook emerges as a more willing screener and cutter. And this will be the time his frenetic pace benefits his team with transition frequency, rim pressure and kickouts and virtually no inexplicable jumpers.
If Russ is going to make it anywhere as an ancillary device, Denver figures to be the spot. Jokić has a way of inspiring guys to screen, cut and just generally move without the ball, and the Nuggets can lean on putting in the dunker’s spot if he’s not playing beside Aaron Gordon. (Adam Mares recently did an excellent, and exhaustive, job for Locked On Nuggets mapping out Russ’ best-case outcomes in Denver.)
Westbrook’s on-ball thrust can likewise be an asset. The Nuggets are offensive dynamos with Jokić and can be opportunistic in transition. But they just finished 28th in average possession time on the more glamorous end, according to Inpredictable. And their appetite for pace following boarded misses and live-ball turnovers isn’t what you’d call quick.
For better or worse, Russ will inject a variability into the cadence at which they can play—both in the half-court and on the break.
Detroit Pistons: Malik Beasley9 of 30
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Sincere apologies to Ron Holland. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman sold me long ago on his speed in open space and coming around screens, as well as his potential to improve as a shooter. But some of his flaws are redundant with Ausar Thompson’s own warts, and given how desperately the Detroit Pistons must space the floor around Cade Cunningham, it’s tough to say how big of a role he’s guaranteed. (It helps that he’s the first pick made by the Trajan Langdon-led front office.)
Malik Beasley is instead the choice.
Nabbing him on a one-year, $6 million deal following the season he delivered for Milwaukee seems like a steal we should all be talking about more. Is Beasley perfect? Not even close. But he shouldered an outsized defensive role last year—and was far from terrible. He held up well, in particular, when getting switched onto bigger assignments.
Granted, the Pistons didn’t sign Beasley in hopes he would overachieve on defense. This is about shooting. And he can shoot.
Beasley is canning 38.6 percent of his triples on 9.5 attempts per 36 minutes since 2018. Among everyone who has logged as much total court time over this span, Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield are the only other players who have matched (or exceeded) both benchmarks.
Cade Cunnigham’s live dribble possessions are going to love this addition.
Golden State Warriors: De’Anthony Melton10 of 30
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The Golden State Warriors have no shortage of options from which to choose.
Buddy Hield should have the chance to leave a lasting imprint on the offense following the exit of Klay Thompson. Kyle Anderson’s fit is bizarre at first blush, but he provides enough defense across multiple archetypes and secondary playmaking that this alliance just might work.
De’Anthony Melton ends up getting the nod unless (until?) the Warriors make a trade. (And assuming his back injury won’t linger.)
Despite standing only 6’3″, the 26-year-old can defend both guard positions and a bunch of different wings. He saw extensive reps against guys like Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum last season alone.
Melton’s screen navigation is relentless, and he’s opportunistic in passing lanes and with help. Never mind loose handles and high dribbles. Even those with enviable ball control aren’t safe from turnovers with him around. No other player in league history standing 6’3″ or shorter has matched his career steal (3.0) and block (1.9) rates while appearing in more than 25 games.
Leaning on Melton for offensive creation is mostly a fool’s errand. He can do some point guard things, doesn’t stop the ball and has gotten better at maintaining his dribble and threading pocket passes in the lane. But he’s a complementary weapon at his core. And when you’re shooting 38.3 percent on 5.0 three-point attempts per game over the past four seasons, that’s perfectly fine.
Houston Rockets: Reed Sheppard11 of 30
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Reed Sheppard would be the choice for the Houston Rockets even if he was facing actual competition.
The No. 3 pick looked every bit as electric as advertised on the offensive end during summer league. His handle is escapist artistry, and the way he leverages the threat of his outside shot into pull-ups from mid-range should translate immediately amid NBA spacing.
You’d like to see Sheppard get deeper into the paint on more of his drives. You also have to acknowledge it might not matter. His comfort level finishing extended layups, in traffic and over size, is unreal.
Playing time could be an issue for the newbie, at least out of the gate. Houston has no fewer than 11 players, including its rookie, who would crack the staple rotation of any other team. It likewise isn’t clear how much time he’ll get to spend on the rock. The Rockets have a bunch of dudes who warrant on-ball reps.
This is yet another concern that might not matter. Most of Houston’s primary ball-handlers and playmakers are at home operating as supporting shooters or screeners. And at the bare minimum, Sheppard’s own nuclear touch and range should be critical to boosting the team’s overall floor balance.
Indiana Pacers: Johnny Furphy12 of 30
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None of the Indiana Pacers’ new additions should feature prominently into next season’s plans. The team is too deep with entrenched options. If guys like Johnny Furphy and James Wiseman start racking up serious minutes, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Counterpoint: None of us should mind if the Pacers give Furphy a shot to make an impact outside the G-League. He isn’t just a good fit. It’s like he was born to play for the exact iteration of this Indiana team.
Furphy’s volume from deep can help an offense that placed 18th in three-point-attempt rate. (That number is somewhat deflated by Tyrese Haliburton’s hamstring injury, the Buddy Hield trade and the Pacers’ high rim frequency.) His transition playmaking and scoring also fits right into Indiana’s penchant for operating at warp speed. Only six other teams last season spent more time in transition, and the Pacers spit out the fastest overall average offensive possession length, according to Inpredictable.
Indiana will have to see if Furphy can do more on the ball in traffic and hold up defensively. The latter will be more important to his (potentially) sneaking into the rotation. He’ll have to get stronger and less rigid to be a difference-maker, but at 6’9″, he offers good size and has shown he can sustain a presence on the glass.
Los Angeles Clippers: Derrick Jones Jr.13 of 30
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The Los Angeles Clippers have long needed a jolt of athleticism that doesn’t come in the form of ball dominance.
Derrick Jones Jr. finally delivers it.
He outfits the offense with someone who will sprint like hell in transition, beeline toward the basket off screens and finish above the rim. Mimicking his usage with Dallas could provide a pathway to the Clippers dabbling in no-big lineups—a possible godsend when their primary Ivica Zubac backups project to be some combination of P.J. Tucker, Mo Bamba and Kai Jones.
Shakier shooting is peppered up and down Los Angeles’ roster, so DJJ could see his role curtailed if he doesn’t maintain last season’s volume and efficiency from distance (34.3 percent on 3.1 attempts per game). At the same time, his defensive malleability may be too valuable to restrict.
Dallas routinely used Jones against the toughest point-of-attack assignments. The arrival of Kris Dunn gives the Clippers an alternative versus smaller advantage creators, but DJJ’s defense scales to bigger wings as well.
Only nine players in 2023-24 faced a higher degree of matchup difficulty on the less glamorous end, according to BBall-Index. If nothing else, in tandem with Dunn, Jones will offer a reprieve for Kawhi Leonard and Terance Mann while protecting the Clippers defense against extended and/or frequent absences from the former.
Los Angeles Lakers: Dalton Knecht14 of 30
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It is frankly a failure on the part of the Los Angeles Lakers that Dalton Knecht has to be the choice here. Adding zero established veterans to the rotation when you have Anthony freaking Davis and LeBron freaking James is a special brand of ridiculous.
And for those inclined to blindly defend an organization that doesn’t actually care about your standom: Yes, their financial situation was and is difficult to work through. It was and is not impossible to navigate. They can at least aggregate salaries in trades as of now (they can’t take back more money in return). Do something with this “flexibility” LeBron helped you create by accepting slightly less than his max salary.
(Please note this take stands to self-destruct if and when the Lakers actually do something, anything, at all.)
The idea of Knecht is at least valuable to a rotation that ranked 28th in three-point-attempt rate. He won’t hesitate firing off kick-outs and has the ability to let ‘er rip coming around screens and hand-offs.
Whether the Lakers give him an ample opportunity to contribute is debatable. Rookies don’t usually get a ton of leeway on teams that fancy themselves relevant. Head coach JJ Redick should have a soft spot for Knecht’s archetype. Perhaps that helps.
Or maybe Redick himself, and his presumably more diverse offense, is actually Los Angeles’ best new weapon (for now).
Memphis Grizzlies: Zach Edey15 of 30
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Zach Edey receives this nod by default. But that doesn’t mean it’s unearned.
Six summer-league quarters were enough to legitimize the theory behind the Memphis Grizzlies drafting him ninth overall. His size is the draw. And rightfully so. A 7’4″ superstructure can make a difference simply by virtue of being massive.
But Edey is more than his size. He has surprisingly nimble feet when moving away from the ball in the half-court and doesn’t give off lumbering vibes when running the floor. He has even shown the craft required to be a bail-out option in the post.
Edey’s rim protection and rebounding should unlock the best possible defensive version of Jaren Jackson Jr.—which, by the way, is absolutely terrifying. And his screens flatten other large-but-not-by-his-standards humans into pancakes. Desmond Bane and Ja Morant are going to bask in the separation he creates for them.
All the predictable caveats apply. What is Edey’s learning curve outside the summer league? How will his stamina hold up across an 82-game season? Can the Grizzlies limit the amount of time he’s yanked outside the paint?
These are all perfectly fair questions. So, too, is this: Will Edey prove valuable enough from the onset to crack Memphis’ most important closing units? That we can consider this a distinct possibility for a team with deep-playoff aspirations and feel mostly OK about it is pretty wild.
Miami Heat: Kel’el Ware16 of 30
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Alec Burks should be the pick here if you don’t think Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will give run to Kel’el Ware or is open to using him alongside Bam Adebayo.
In other words: We should all be picking Kel’el Ware.
Coach Spo isn’t averse to testing out unproven contributors. His knack for incorporating wild cards and unknowns is one of the primary crutches on which #HeatCulture rests.
Playing Ware in tandem with Adebayo is a slightly different story. But Spo has hinted at an interest in dual-big setups. Kevin Love began last year starting alongside Bam. Granted, it didn’t last. And he’s a certified floor-spacer. But Miami also previously toyed with playing Adebayo beside Omer Yurtseven before injuries upended the experiment.
This lays the groundwork for an Adebayo-Ware frontcourt. The evidence intensifies if you buy into Bam’s three-point exploration with Team USA as well as Ware’s green light from downtown through eight summer-league appearances.
To what end the pairing works or the rookie contributes at all will be a matter of course. Miami is still up against immediate expectations. Ware should nevertheless enter next season with the backup-center minutes on lock.
And in the event he continues to drum up his offensive physicality while covering bonkers amounts of ground on defense, it shouldn’t surprise any of us if he ends the year as a starter and/or closing-unit staple.
Milwaukee Bucks: Gary Trent Jr.17 of 30
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Gary Trent Jr. is the consummate give-and-take contributor—when you’re paying him real money. The Milwaukee Bucks aren’t paying him real money. They scooped him up at the minimum in what is easily one of the summer’s best (and most inexplicable) values.
Headache-inducing tendencies are ingrained into the Trent experience. He can match up with some like-sized-or-smaller advantage creators, but you’re pushing boundaries if you saddle him with wing-stopper responsibilities. And regardless, he’s best suited as an off-ball-anarchy creator, an impactful role that explores both ends of the spectrum. GTJ will force turnovers and but also over-gamble in a way that foists defensive possessions into chaos.
Milwaukee shouldn’t care. Nor must it worry about the blinders he wears when attacking off the dribble. The Bucks have the pecking order to ensure Trent gets off the ball quickly, and even if the tunnel vision persists, it’s worth riding out for his three-point volume and accuracy.
Since the 2020-21 season, GTJ is downing over 38 percent of his triples on more than seven attempts per game while posting a steal rate north of two. Only two other players are hitting these benchmarks over the same span: Lonzo Ball, who has appeared in just 90 games amid knee issues, and Paul George. The Bucks are getting, in no uncertain terms, bonkers value here.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham18 of 30
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The Minnesota Timberwolves have made a truly fascinating bet on Rob Dillingham. Rookies seldom feature prominently on contenders, but you don’t fork over a 2030 first-round swap and 2031 first-round pick for someone you plan to slowly develop.
Logic dictates Dillingham will enter his inaugural season with the backup point guard reins. And if he hits right out of the gate, he profiles as exactly what Minnesota’s offense needs: another ball-handler who puts pressure on set defenses, gets off the rock quickly when deferring and downs shots from every area outside the paint, as both a self-creator and spot-up option.
Just how well Dillingham’s game translates to the NBA remains to be seen. Worry warts will harp on his frame. But at 6’3″, he is not exactly tiny and showed during summer league he has some fight to him. Opposing offenses may still attack him, but the Wolves have the surrounding talent to insulate him.
Reading and reacting to NBA size and length will be the more pivotal swing development. Can Dillingham get all the way to the basket when on the ball? And how will he handle minutes independent of Anthony Edwards, when defenses blitz him and test both how well he passes in those situations and whether those lineups have anyone else who can beat them?
Minnesota appears ready and willing to find out.
New Orleans Pelicans: Dejounte Murray19 of 30
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So much remains unsettled for the New Orleans Pelicans. Will they trade Brandon Ingram? Extend him? Is Daniel Theis really going to be the starting center? What does it mean for Zion Williamson, and for Yves Missi, and for Karlo Matković, if New Orleans doesn’t add another 5?
Answers to these questions will inform how the Pelicans play and, inevitably, their ceiling inside the Western Conference. No matter how New Orleans handles its variable mix of curiosities, though, the intrigue of Dejounte Murray’s fit is the lone constant.
Acquiring him from Atlanta arms the Pelicans with an offensive organizer who can run things if and when Zion misses time. And New Orleans has the defensive depth on the perimeter for Murray to settle into his best role: a secondary stopper who lives to disrupt.
Mapping out his fit inside the Pelicans’ full-strength ecosystem is a more ambiguous exercise. Murray has improved enough as a shooter to both stretch the floor around Zion and convince head coach Willie Green to use more traditional two-man stuff. He drilled over 39 percent of catch-and-fire treys last season on modest volume (3.7 attempts per game), and while his pull-up efficiency dipped later in the year, he canned 38.7 percent of those looks from deep through Jan. 15.
Things get thornier when weighing the Brandon Ingram of it all. New Orleans can stagger its three-best players to balance out ball-dominant proclivities, but the trio will need BI to significantly nudge up his three-point volume to explore anything resembling its potential peak.
New York Knicks: Mikal Bridges20 of 30
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Mikal Bridges is the type of player who fits anywhere—even on rosters that don’t house teammates from his Villanova days. And the well-roundedness of his game means he can serve many purposes.
For the New York Knicks specifically, he’s meant to represent a finishing piece, that player who pushes them into the inner circle of title contenders. Whether he does just this is a matter of course; it’s why we play the games. But his fit in the Big Apple is so seamless that it’s impossible to wax poetic on a singular area of impact. His utility is rooted in its generality.
“He can play the 3. He can play the 2. He can play the 4. He can run your second unit. That’s one thing they really lost when they traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Those were two important guys in your second unit. And the non-Jalen Brunson minutes just became a disaster. You heard me be frustrated with the Pistons minutes I had to watch last season. The Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović experience during the regular season was for the large part awful. And now all of those minutes will be played by Mikal Bridges.
“So, just the talent upgrade in being able to get a guy who never misses games and play him for Tom Thibodeau, I can’t find the downside. You can play him in multiple lineups. He can play with Brunson. He can play with Randle. You can play him at the 4 in certain lineups. He’s Anunoby insurance if Anunoby plays 50 games next year. How many more things should I say???”
It’s pretty ridiculous that this list could go on. And on. The one thing worth adding: Bridges is now in a situation where he needn’t be his team’s most important offensive or defensive player. That’s a terrifying proposition…for New York’s opponents.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Caruso21 of 30
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True to their endless-optionality form, the Oklahoma City Thunder have two candidates for this spot: Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Both should rank among the team’s top-seven rotation players. And Hartenstein arguably fills more voids as someone who adds size, physicality and rebounding.
I’m picking Caruso anyway.
Just because Chet Holmgren can play beside Hartenstein doesn’t mean the Thunder will view dual-big arrangements as a crutch. Holmgren is still most appealing at the 5, where he’s not so much a nightmare matchup on offense as completely unsolvable.
Most of Oklahoma City’s closing units should feature him at center. That renders Caruso the more likely clutch-time staple. And this, in turn, bumps the “Best New Face” needle in his favor.
Adding Caruso to the Thunder’s top-four defense is patently absurd. He will make life easier on Lu Dort and Jalen Williams while potentially transforming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into even more of an off-ball steal machine. Depending on the matchup, head coach Mark Daigneault may now view Dort as an optional crunch-time inclusion, a luxury not as readily at his disposal before.
Believe or not, though, Oklahoma City should feel Caruso’s presence the most on offense. He isn’t what you’d call a reliable from-scratch creator, but he’s developed into a bankable three-point shooter on real volume.
Caruso swished almost 41 percent of his treys last season on a career-high 5.9 attempts per 36 minutes. His long-range frequency should climb higher on the Thunder, who won’t need him to handle the ball all that much.
And even if it doesn’t, his current threat level meaningfully opens the floor for everyone else. That’s a convenient add-on for guys like J-Dub and SGA. It has the potential to be gargantuan for the development and expansion of Holmgren’s game.
Orlando Magic: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope22 of 30
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The extent to which Kentavious Caldwell-Pope upgrades the Orlando Magic offense is a matter of debate. They needed a higher-volume shot-creator and playmaker more than anything, and he doesn’t check either of those boxes.
Incorporating his three-point touch should still go a long way. He’s downing over 40 percent of his triples since 2019-20 on more than five attempts per 36 minutes. That volume isn’t smack-you-in-the-face fantastic, but Orlando’s offense has more supporting shots to go around, so this number could climb.
KCP’s reliability from deep is also extra standout when you factor in availability. Nobody else over this span who meets those benchmarks has logged more total minutes. This may ring hollow if you buy into his 2024 postseason decline. But his sub-33-percent clip from downtown through two rounds is, for now, the exception rather than the rule.
Let’s not discount his defensive impact, either. He ferried monstrous burdens at his three previous stops (Denver, Los Angeles and Washington). Playing beside Jalen Suggs will make his life easier—and the Magic’s top-two defense, somehow, even more dangerous.
Philadelphia 76ers: Paul George23 of 30
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Paul George’s arrival forms a Big Three in Philadelphia that just might be the league’s most balanced. There is a pleasant symmetry to having stars at the 1, 3 and 5 spots, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a marquee-name trio that’s more complementary than PG, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
The 34-year-old’s functional plasticity is at the heart of the Philadelphia 76ers’ operational mystique. He is somewhat overstretched as a No. 1 guy against opposing starters, but not by much. The Sixers will have him top out as the second option in their most important lineups, and in most cases, he will cede self-creation responsibilities to both Embiid and Maxey. That’s huge for both Philly’s offensive depth and their new star’s aging curve.
Any questions about George’s impact are almost exclusive to the defensive end. Even with the addition of Caleb Martin, PG remains the Sixers’ most important perimeter stopper. That’s not a hat he’s needed to wear regularly since his Oklahoma City days. And even then, the Thunder had a younger Jerami Grant at their behest.
This isn’t to imply George has become a defensive sieve. And his list of assignments in Los Angeles fluctuated along with Kawhi Leonard’s availability. But Philadelphia, as of now, should need him to shoulder a heavier on-ball workload compared to last season.
That’s not ideal. It’s also not a nightmare scenario if Maxey and Embiid are sparing him from mammoth burdens on offense. And look, his role could change. The Sixers have four tradeable first-round picks and, eventually, a speckling of digestible contracts they can use to take a swing at the deadline.
Phoenix Suns: Tyus Jones24 of 30
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Squandered possessions plagued the Phoenix Suns offense all of last season. Only six teams finished the year with a higher turnover rate, and they were 28th in the same category during fourth quarters.
Blame can be ascribed to a number of factors. The absence of a conventional floor general stands out most.
Except not anymore.
Bagging Tyus Jones at the minimum is the mother of all steals. Possession management will never be an issue with him on the floor. He has notched an assist rate north of 25 with a turnover rate below nine in each of the past three years. Michael Jordan is currently the only player on record with as many such seasons under his belt.
Jones’ arrival does exacerbate Phoenix’s overkill of non-wings. We know he’ll start. But will he close? Either way, there will be an awful lot of defensive pressure on Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in lineups that include a traditional big.
This does nothing to dull the significance of Jones’ signing. The Suns’ stars must commit to getting up more threes to capitalize on his kick-outs. That’s doable. Jones’ passing to rollers, from basically every level, is ridiculous. He also tends to hold the ball less than you realize and does a great job exiting the lane off his own passes.
Pepper in the 42.2 percent he just shot on spot-up threes, and Phoenix is getting a weapon that elevates the offense both in tandem with and independent of its stars.
Portland Trail Blazers: Deni Avdija25 of 30
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Donovan Clingan deserves some love here. Though I count myself as a skeptic, he turned heads during summer league with “I’m gigantic and I know it” defensive possessions and by attempting more threes (13) than he did during his two seasons at UConn (nine).
It would nevertheless be foolish to declare him instantly better or more valuable than Deni Avdija. The Portland Trail Blazers gave up Malcolm Brogdon, Bub Carrington (No. 14) and a 2029 first-rounder to get him. They clearly view him as an integral cog in next year’s machine. (Clingan, meanwhile, will be competing against, like, 67 other bigs for minutes.)
Many don’t yet understand the theory of Avdija. Whether that’s because he has spent his entire career in Washington, has seen his offensive role change a few times, doesn’t take enough threes or some combination of everything doesn’t particularly matter. Avdija is a good, versatile, two-way basketball player who, at 23, has yet to hit his peak.
The latter portion of last season offered a glimpse into his highest-end outcome. Receiving more touches led to a flourishing, at times sneakily physical drive-and-dish game and spiffier handles and footwork and finishing. His three-point volume will always leave you wanting more, but he just downed them at a 37.4 percent clip and negates some of the long-range hesitance with less aversion to contact and sharper movement away from the ball.
This all says nothing of Avdija’s defense. He is both quicker and more physical than he looks and able to tackle a wide array of assignments. Depending on development elsewhere, Portland’s best new addition might actually turn out to be its best overall player.
Sacramento Kings: DeMar DeRozan26 of 30
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Snagging DeMar DeRozan was mostly a no-brainer move by the Sacramento Kings. The opportunity cost wasn’t that steep—though, handing over a 2031 first-round swap isn’t ideal—and despite their success in 2022-23, the current iteration of the roster sorely needed another outside-in shot creator.
The latter might sound weird on its face. Sacramento has De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis for crying out loud. But Fox was the only rotation player on the entire Kings roster last year to have more than half of his made buckets go unassisted.
Don’t get this twisted. Ball and body movement is nice. Sometimes, though, you need a self-sufficient bucket-getter to make something out of nothing. DeRozan meets the criteria—and then some. He should boost a Sacramento team that ranked a not-good-enough 14th in points scored possession overall, turned in the 18th-best crunch-time offense and rarely reached the foul line.
Granted, DeRozan’s arrival is not without concerns. The Kings will have to navigate potentially awkward spacing when he shares the floor with Domantas Sabonis. Both dabble in three-point range. Neither is what you’d consider high volume. Superior playmaking and off-ball movement can iron out many of the wrinkles. But unless one of them noticeably ups their outside attempts, their joint minutes will be something to monitor.
Sacramento could be conceding some defense to boot. Harrison Barnes wasn’t setting the world on fire for them, but he also shouldered an outsized role when looking at his primary assignments. DeRozan isn’t even an option to throw on glittery covers. Keon Ellis and Keegan Murray will be mission critical to preserving the defensive strides made by the team last season.
San Antonio Spurs: Chris Paul27 of 30
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Chris Paul is far removed from his halcyon days, but at 39, he remains a competent game manager. And wouldn’t you know it, the San Antonio Spurs needed one of those more than anything else.
Plopping CP3 beside Victor Wembanyama is a potential cheat code—a horrifying possibility if you’re a rival team, because Wemby is already an entire cluster of cheat codes by himself.
Paul may pound the air out of the ball on a handful of possessions, but he remains an expert defensive manipulator and offensive chaperone. Wemby should get to spend even more time in a play-finishing role, both at the rim and from beyond the arc.
Ticketing the Spurs for a postseason or play-in spot just because they signed an almost-40-year-old floor general likely overstates the significance of this marriage. Then again, San Antonio outscored opponents by 5.2 points per 100 possessions, with an almost-average offense, when Wemby shared the floor with Tre Jones.
Giving the reigning Rookie of the Year a chance to play virtually every one of his minutes alongside a capable point guard might just be the adjustment that converts hyperbolic optimism into reality.
Toronto Raptors: Ja’Kobe Walter28 of 30
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Going with Ja’Kobe Walter doubles as an assumption that the Toronto Raptors will continue taking the longer view. If you think they’re entirely invested in racking up victories, then Davion Mitchell’s suffocating ball pressure is probably the route to travel.
And yet, the Raptors still need perimeter dynamism at the offensive end, preferably in the form of a wing. Mitchell won’t offer that. Walter might. As Samson Folk said on the Raptors Republic’s draft reaction show:
“He is kind of electric, as far as getting to his own shot. The upside is as a shot-maker. To my mind, the hope is that he can translate some of his athleticism to being kind of punchy on-ball defensively, although we’re not [yet] seeing much of that. And the big takeaway is that this is a guy who takes a wide variety of shots. This is a guy who gets two feet in the paint. And to this point, this is a guy who has not been super successful at converting once he’s there.”
Those who checked in on Walter’s summer league performance won’t be sold. He was erratic, prone to over-dribbling and got overpowered, at times, on defense. He also provided glimpses into his shooting, bandwidth for drawing fouls and defensive potential as an on-ball pest.
Walter’s usage will change with the grown-up Raptors. Toronto doesn’t need him to dribble as much. Some escapism is fine, but for the most part, he’ll be tasked with firing off the catch or attacking over-aggressive closeouts. Head coach Rajaković’s offense is also hard-wired to improve a player’s finishing—so long as they’re willing to move off and into the ball. (See: Barrett, RJ.)
Pinning down the finer points of complementary duty could take time. But Walter is a talented enough shot-maker for it to work. If he gives them anything on the defensive end, at all, this is someone who can feasibly rip minutes from Ochai Agbaji and even Bruce Brown Jr.
Utah Jazz: Cody Williams29 of 30
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Cody Williams finished atop my own personal 2024 NBA draft board, so you can imagine that I believe the Utah Jazz nabbed a steal at No. 10.
At 6’9″, the 19-year-old fits your prototypical description of a wing. Strength may be an issue against certain defensive matchups early on, but that’s true of most teenagers.
In the interim, Williams has the size and length (7’1″ wingspan) to disrupt without needing to overpower. His defensive footwork can be Utopian. Ball-handlers struggle to shake him even when getting him on his heels, and he’s a thwarting shot-blocker when guarding in transition.
Williams’ slashing ability, both on the break and in the half-court, should translate nicely to the NBA. Especially in some of Utah’s spacier lineups. His jumper is more complicated. He shot 41.5 percent from deep at Colorado, but that mark came on just 41 total attempts.
Doubts weren’t necessarily during summer league. Williams knocked down just one of his 11 threes in Salt Lake City before going 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) across four games in Las Vegas.
Every now and then, though, he offered flashes and flickers of more dynamic offensive play. You can sense and see real feel during those moments—slowed-down probes punctuated by angles and spins and pull-ups and patience and even a dab of playmaking. If he can speed up his release and increase his three-point volume, Williams should be considered a dark horse candidate for Rookie of the Year.
Washington Wizards: Malcolm Brogdon30 of 30
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Malcolm Brogdon is not nearly as important to the Washington Wizards’ bigger picture as Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington. But this is about choosing the best new weapon for 2024-25 alone. And he enters the season better than both.
Washington will feel a playmaking drop-off going from Tyus Jones to Brogdon. That’s great news for Carrington’s Rookie of the Year chances. The Wizards should be leaning on him out of the gate to run the offense.
But Brogdon is a driver of offense himself—quite literally. He averaged more drives in Portland last season (12.3) than Tyrese Haliburton did in Indiana (12.1) while logging almost four less minutes per game. This is a skill set that will translate to anywhere, including Washington.
Ditto for Brogdon’s shooting. He has a couple of blippy seasons on his resume, but he’s a career 39.4 marksman from deep and has cleared 41 percent on triples through each of the past two years.
Sustaining that efficiency for the Wizards could admittedly be tough. Brogdon has broadened his offensive scope to include more difficult treys, but he’s most comfortable firing off the catch. He hit 51.8 percent of his spot-up threes last year. Washington doesn’t have a bonafide passer to set him up unless Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly or Jordan Poole pops.
Even so, the plug-and-play nature of Brogdon’s offense coupled with his capacity to soak up minutes alongside other guards renders him the safe selection. If you’d prefer to bet on Carrington’s vision, Sarr’s defense, Washington trading Brogdon before the start of the season or barely using him once it does, by all means, go ahead and roll dice. Pretty much anything goes this early into a team’s rebuild.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.
