EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe 2025-26 NBA season is less than a week away, and while there are so many storylines surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers' present and the future of the NBA champion New York Knicks, there are several intriguing narratives around the league.In some instances, it could take all season to shake out, while others could have a fate determined in the first quarter of the campaign.Either way, here are 10 important people at all levels of the game who bear watching, starting with a No. 1 pick who is still looking to make his playoff debut.Zion Williamson, New Orleans PelicansWhy he's interesting: It's now or never, period.Williamson's 62 games last season were the second most of his career, trailing only the 70 he played in 2022-23. His stretch of playing 52 of 53 games from Dec. 14 to April 5 was the longest such span of his career. The Pelicans were 21-31 during that time, as the team had a litany of players in and out through the season while trying to develop rookies Jeremy Fears and Derik Queen.This is Year 8 for the 2019 No. 1 pick. The league moves fast, and Williamson's contract for 2027-28 is not guaranteed. Pelicans GM Troy Weaver previously went through the painstaking process of a Pistons rebuild at the start of the decade, with no assets to accrue draft capital, but that's not the case here. The new regime resisted wholesale changes last season, and they hope new coach Jamahl Mosley will have the same effect J.B. Bickerstaff had in Detroit three years ago before they make any drastic moves.Williamson has the most credentials, but also the most questions. Apparently, he's come into camp in great shape, working plenty with assistant coach God Shammgod over the summer.Doug Christie, Sacramento KingsWhy he's interesting: The bar isn't high.There's no mandate for the Kings to make the playoffs with the current roster, and the front office has stated it would not saddle itself with win-now moves that jeopardize the future. Zach LaVine is on an expiring deal, and who knows how Domantas Sabonis, who has two years left on the extension he signed in 2023, fits into the future.But Christie has yet to put an imprint on this roster as far as style of play, which is something Kings GM Scott Perry is big on. If Christie can put promising rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. in positions to be an elite lead performer, it will certainly be a feather in his cap while the roster starts to take shape. If it's another nondescript 22-win season with no discernible on-court quality, things could get tricky for the well-liked Christie.LaMelo Ball, Minnesota TimberwolvesWhy he's intriguing: The Timberwolves aren't strangers to big moves, going back to acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz for a cache of future picks and trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks two years ago, following their first trip to the Western Conference finals in 20 years. Now Tim Connelly is remaking the roster, bringing in the uber-talented Ball to alleviate pressure on Anthony Edwards, who wound up taking on a heavy share of facilitating duties during the past couple of seasons.Ball, who seems to be getting along famously with Edwards in the early returns, is tasked in two ways. First, and most importantly, Ball is facing high-stakes, high-pressure basketball for the first time in his NBA career. For his first six seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, the play-in tournament was the high-water mark. Second, can he stay healthy? He has played 70 games twice in his career and joins a team that wants to elevate itself to the Oklahoma City Thunder/San Antonio Spurs tier of the West.Micah Nori and Ja Morant, Portland Trail BlazersWhy they're intriguing: The only player-coach combo on this list is notable, even if they're not joined at the hip. Nori, the highly regarded assistant in Minnesota, took this job under less than desirable circumstances. Only the first year of his contract is guaranteed, with team options for the second and third year -- a deal National Basketball Coaches Association president J.B. Bickerstaff called a "slap in the face." Trail Blazers governor Tom Dundon has already caught flak for his cheap practices, and it seems like Nori is in a lose-lose situation.That's where Morant comes in. It's been years since he was an All-Star (2022 and 2023), let alone a future face of the league. The trade from the Memphis Grizzlies was a merciful end, but going to Portland means there's a franchise legend at the same position returning from an Achilles injury: Damian Lillard. Jrue Holiday is still there along with Scoot Henderson. Where does Morant fit in, not just on this team but in the league at large?His game hasn't developed with an outside shot, and his body has been beaten up by injuries that have limited him to just 79 games in the past three seasons. He's due $42.1 million and $44.8 million in the next two years and will be 29 when free agency hits.Is Portland a fertile ground for a hard reset? Or are matters far too complicated for either Nori or Morant to truly succeed?Anthony Davis, Washington WizardsWhy he's intriguing: It's been a while since we've seen Davis as an impact player -- he has played a total of 71 games in the past two seasons -- so he has something to prove. Davis has yet to play a game for the Wizards and, unlike Trae Young, didn't get a contract extension. So Davis is entering a potential contract year -- he holds a $62.7 million player option for 2027-28 -- in a place he didn't choose, making his situation all the more interesting. He's a veteran on a team with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, a 20-point, 10-assist threat in Young and 2024 No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, who has shown more than a little promise through two seasons.The relationship between Davis and the Wizards seems to be going well, and he will want to put his best foot forward to secure his future as he turns 34 in March. If he's healthy, Davis is still one of the more versatile bigs in the league and a Hall of Famer the day he becomes eligible. If he's healthy, he could be a coveted player should he and the Wizards not come to terms on a contract extension. Both sides understand it's a business; it's just a matter of how this plays out -- and how long it will take for clarity.Karl-Anthony Towns, New York KnicksWhy he's intriguing: It seems fairly obvious; his talks with the Knicks regarding an extension have hung over the organization since the Knicks won their first title in 53 years. Talks have been cut off after Towns found the Knicks' offer of $200 million over four years to be unsatisfactory. That figure is not only $76 million less than his potential max of $276 million over four seasons, but it also represents a pay cut from his current salary of $57 million. Like Davis, he's armed with a player option for next season at $61 million that the second apron-conscious Knicks have to be aware of.One of the reasons Towns was traded from Minnesota a couple of years ago was because of his salary and Minnesota's desire to get from under the second apron in its first year. One wonders if that plays in his mind and heart as the Knicks go for a repeat. Is everything on the table if the Knicks are true to their word of not negotiating during the season?The Knicks were one band, one sound during their run to the NBA Finals last season, and repeating is tougher than ever in today's league. How will they manage it? How will Towns, who sacrificed last season and is now being asked to sacrifice again, go beyond his expectations?Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland CavaliersWhy he's intriguing: Perhaps we've made too much fun of his comments during the Eastern Conference finals, where he told the media that "analytically" they had won two of the three games against the Knicks even though they were on the way to being swept. It obscured the best season and playoff run Cleveland has had that wasn't headlined by LeBron James in over 30 years. But the Cavs looked emotionally and physically spent going into that series with the Knicks, so was that the maximum Atkinson could've gotten from his team? And with the Eastern Conference looking improved from top to bottom, where do the Cavaliers fit in? Can Atkinson truly unlock Evan Mobley, a No. 1 talent who's the third option in this setup?Donovan Mitchell re-signed for the max, and James Harden agreed to a three-year deal as he enters his age-37 season with a lot of miles on his body and legs.The Cavaliers acquired Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets via a sign-and-trade deal, but is that enough to keep up? And can Atkinson shake off those comments and perception to keep the Cavaliers in the upper echelon?Kyrie Irving, Dallas MavericksWhy he's intriguing: Because he's a wizard with the ball, the perfect shot-creating guard who barely needs a sliver of space to get a shot off with either hand, unafraid to take the big shots in the big moments ... and we have no idea how his ACL surgery will affect his game, considering he hasn't been on the floor in live action in 19 months.Irving found ways to excel next to LeBron James in Cleveland, Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and Luka Doncic in Dallas, meaning he should have little trouble figuring out how to work with Cooper Flagg, who stands to take a big leap in Year 2. There's new leadership in Dallas, Masai Ujiri as team president and first-year coach Dusty May, and there haven't been whispers about Irving's current fit.Irving will turn 35 in March, and he has a player option for 2027-28 at $42.4 million and could be a coveted veteran for more than a few contenders if that's where his fate takes him.But it's long been said he's comfortable in Dallas, and that shouldn't be taken lightly. Some of his most productive and efficient play has been with the Mavericks, so it shouldn't be assumed he will be on the way out. Either way, a return to the court for a spellbinding performer is noteworthy.Jon Horst, Milwaukee BucksWhy he's intriguing: Travis Scott's "Butterfly Effect" -- Giannis Antetokounmpo's song of choice once he scored at Fiserv Forum -- won't be playing there anymore after his trade to the Miami Heat. But the butterfly effect of that move will continue to ripple.Unless your name is Sam Presti, trading away your franchise star is usually signing your own pink slip as opposed to being able to engineer the next phase of team building. Horst did a masterful job in building the team that became an NBA champion in 2021, then used every creative lever he could to keep Antetokounmpo happy until the relationship ran its course.The return for the franchise star and Bobby Portis was three first-round picks, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel'el Ware. Lillard's waive-and-stretch deal is still on the books until 2029-30 at $21 million per season.And there's the matter of the league's investigation to their signing of Gary Trent Jr. for salary cap circumvention. If the LA Clippers case is any guide -- and nobody's comparing the actual severity of the two instances -- the NBA will look at this very seriously.Will Horst still have the chance to rebuild the Bucks into another contender?Kawhi Leonard, Toronto RaptorsWhy he's intriguing: The yearlong investigation surrounding Leonard receiving impermissible benefits from the Clippers is over. He wasn't suspended but forced to repay restitution of $700,000 in impermissible benefits and was traded back to his preferred destination of Toronto, where he helped the Raptors win their only NBA title in 2019.He would probably prefer if nobody asked anything about his Clippers experience, and the Raptors don't care what happened in the past seven years -- handing him a lucrative three-year extension upon arrival, in hopes that history will repeat itself.The Raptors were a first-round out last year but have talented players, even after trading Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to the Clippers. Leonard, if healthy, can make it all fit in a crowded Eastern Conference. But can he be trusted, just to stay on the floor?Last year was one of his best, even amid the controversy, averaging nearly 28 points on ridiculous 50-39-89 splits. But he's 35, and there's all that physical baggage."I want to love Kawhi because he's an incredible talent," a high-ranking Western Conference exec told ESPN. "However, he doesn't abide by the rules of the game. Which is to be available. If he played 70 games, he's a top-three player. I'd take my chances with him."
