It seems like just yesterday that Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets won their first championship, putting a bow on the 2022-23 NBA season. Here we are, somehow at the end of October and now at the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, a year that will feature a ton of unpredictability.
Around this moment, right before a new season begins, everyone always wants to give their predictions of how things will play out, that way they can post “I told you so” on social media at the end of the year. No matter how confident you are and how obvious something may seem, you just never know what to expect in the NBA. Other than Victor Wembanyama going first overall in this past year's draft, there have been no forgone conclusions in this league.
From teams improving or declining to major awards to NBA Finals predictions, everyone always seems to know better than one another. The unpredictability in sports is what keeps us coming back for more. That “what if” narrative pertaining to this league always looms large and brings several questions into the 2023-24 NBA season, so many questions that it is impossible to go through every single one. In fact, there are five questions in particular that will help shape the brand-new season.
So, here are the five biggest questions in the NBA right now, all of which will have a direct impact on how the 2023-24 season plays out and who will ultimately win the 2024 NBA Finals.
Can Chris Paul elevate the Warriors back to championship status?
Around this time a year ago, many were claiming that the Golden State Warriors dynasty had not gone anywhere and this team was in a position to win even more titles over the course of the next decade. Now, everyone wants to throw this narrative away after the Warriors lost in the Western Conference Semifinals and longtime executive Bob Myers stepped down.
The fact of the matter is that the Warriors' championship DNA remains. As long as their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are together, they will have a chance to win it all.
What's unique about the Warriors heading into the 2023-24 season is they added future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul in the offseason at the expense of Jordan Poole and other young assets. Paul, a sworn enemy of the Warriors in recent years, now joins his old rival and gets a chance to win his first ring in his 19th NBA season.
There is really is no reason to believe that Paul being with the Warriors won't work out. He has always been willing to adapt his role on every team and Golden State has a clear need for backcourt help. Curry was their only reliable playmaker last season, and it became very clear that wearing him down over the course of the 82-game schedule would not result in another championship. In fact, Curry only played in 56 games due to injuries.
Nothing is saying that his injuries were a result of having to take on a larger role, but the addition of Paul only helps the two-time MVP. Not to mention, Curry and Thompson can run off screens and have Paul create shooting opportunities for them, offensive sets that led this Warriors dynasty to their first title in 2015.
The Warriors are older now. While wiser, they are not the young athletes they once were. This can obviously be said about Paul as well, especially since he has been banged up with injuries through the years in Phoenix. By bringing the veteran point guard in, the Warriors have made it clear that winning another title is the only thing that matters. Paul opens up the floor more for the focal points of this Warriors offense, plus he gives them another option in the pick-and-roll game offensively, especially with a high-flyer like Jonathan Kuminga on the floor.
The first several weeks of the 2023-24 season will be very telling as to what we can expect the Warriors to look like. Don't be surprised if they own one of the best records in the league heading into January.
Will Luka Doncic and the Mavs miss the playoffs?
The Dallas Mavericks may have very well been the biggest disappointment of the 2022-23 season. Just after making it to the 2022 Western Conference Finals and looking like they were the next team to challenge for the top spot in the conference, Dallas flopped and missed the playoffs altogether. In order to prove that their run to the conference finals was not a fluke, the Mavs must show a sense of fight and growth early on this season.
However, so many question marks surround Dallas right now, making it hard to believe that they have what it takes to be competitive and make it back to the postseason.
Luka Doncic is a fantastic player who's the reason the Mavericks went on a deep playoff run. He continues to make plays every game he's on the floor that leaves us shaking our heads in amazement. The problem is Doncic ended last season injured and now begins the 2023-24 season injured, as the four-time All-NBA star has been dealing with a calf injury all offseason long that nobody seems to have any answers on.
Without Doncic, the Mavs are nothing more than a team competing for a play-in tournament spot, and that's because of how good Kyrie Irving is. If both superstars miss extended time, Dallas will be lucky to finish with a winning record in a Western Conference loaded with talented teams. Even teams that missed the playoffs last season look like more dangerous threats heading into this 2023-24 NBA season.
The Mavs are in a weird spot right now because while they did add talent in the offseason, they still have no identity on the offensive side of things. It's also worth mentioning that they ranked 24th in the league in defensive rating last year.
Dallas missing the playoffs again will drastically change the landscape of the NBA, especially since questions about Doncic's future will begin to arise.
How will the NBA's In-Season Tournament impact minutes and injuries?
The NBA's new in-season tournament has a chance to be great and could bring a new dynamic to the season, especially since it adds an extra sense of competitiveness to some regular-season games. With that said, the league still hasn't solved the “injury problem” that exists with players sitting out games and some complaining that the season is too long.
Injuries can happen at any time in any game on any day. That's just the nature of sports. However, the more competitive a game is and the more physical teams play, the higher the chance someone gets injured. There is a small level of concern amongst some teams in the league right now that this in-season tournament could result in more injuries, especially since there had been added value thrown onto these once matchups that were once viewed as regular, somewhat meaningless games as part of the 82-game regular-season schedule.
Through the years, we have seen organizations take an abundance of caution when players are dealing with soreness and bruises. Ever hear of “load management?”
Stars around the league have sat out plenty of games they probably would have played in if it was the playoffs. To be perfectly fair, adding an in-season tournament does not present much incentive for players to stop sitting out of games if they want extra rest. The league's new injury rules and the minimum games played criteria put on end-of-season awards will obviously impact this philosophy of sitting out, though.
Will we still see players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George sit out in order to be well-rested for the playoffs, or has the NBA actually solved their injured list problems? Will championship contenders like the Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and others actually try their best to win the in-season tournament, or will they treat it just like the rest of the games on their schedule?
It's going to be very interesting to see how teams manage their injuries over the course of the 2023-24 season with everything going on.
What does the future hold for James Harden?
When James Harden exercised his player option for the 2023-24 season before free agency began, he asked the Philadelphia 76ers to trade him. Several months have gone by and close to zero progress has been made on this front, as the Sixers and Harden remain at odds.
From Philadelphia's perspective, they have one of the best guards in the league and believe they are on the verge of winning a championship. This is why the Sixers have no desire to trade Harden unless they can get a lot of value in return. On the other side of things, Harden believes he has been lied to by Daryl Morey and the front office, which is why he no longer wants to be a part of this organization.
What's really crazy and puzzling about everything that has transpired is that the 10-time All-Star showed up to Sixers training camp and was a participant in practices there for a solid week. While he did not play in any preseason games or scrimmages, it appeared as if Harden was going to begin the season on the court for Philly. Now, Harden has remained away from the team, leaving his status for the start of the 2023-24 season very much in question.
The only team that has shown interest in Harden is the Los Angeles Clippers, but they have been unwilling to meet the Sixers' asking price. According to multiple reports, Philadelphia was asking for Terance Mann and two unprotected first-round picks.
Harden's immediate future has a huge impact on the 2023-24 NBA season, especially since his status could make or break the Sixers franchise for many years to come. The potential lack of success that comes from not having Harden could lead to frustrations in Philadelphia, which could lead to an even worse record, which could ultimately lead to Joel Embiid's eventual departure in search of a championship-contending team. This is a doomsday scenario for the 76ers, which is why they need to figure out things quickly.
This whole saga also impacts the Eastern Conference as a whole, as Harden's absence from the Sixers shifts the balance of power at the top of the conference standings. In the West, Harden's potential arrival to the Clippers could instantly make them the favorites if Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook can remain healthy.
There is so much to unpack regarding Harden and a potential trade, which is why his status and involvement with the Sixers will influence what we see in the NBA this season.
Which All-Stars could potentially be moved ahead of the trade deadline?
The NBA trade deadline is basically a holiday. All 30 general managers and front offices around the league work the phones and exchange players with one another, with some teams doing so just to feel involved. Okay, that's not really how it works, but there are always a ton of players on the move ahead of the trade deadline, including some you wouldn't even think were on the trade block initially.
Time and time again, we see All-Stars being moved ahead of the deadline, which is why the 2023-24 season will be no different. We know Harden is the one star on the block right now who could very much be moved at any point, but there are a couple of other big names who could shift the balance of power in the league if they were to be on the move.
Starting with DeMar DeRozan, he finds himself in the final year of his contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer if a long-term extension is not reached with the Chicago Bulls. At 34 years old, DeRozan has continued to establish himself as one of the bets isolation scorers in the league, which is why he would gain a lot of interest on the open market.
The only problem is that the Bulls have not shown a willingness to part ways with their star and still see him being a focal point for them both in the present and future. This mindset could potentially change as the 2023-24 season begins, especially if Chicago struggles yet again after the first several weeks of the season.
The Toronto Raptors are in a similar boat with All-NBA big man Pascal Siakam, who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Fred VanVleet and head coach Nick Nurse are no longer in Toronto, which could very much result in this team taking a major step backwards in the Eastern Conference. There is no sense of direction pertaining to the Raptors right now, and extension talks between the organization and Siakam have been very minimal.
The Atlanta Hawks were very interested in Siakam this offseason and would likely be one of the playoff contenders ready to pounce if he actually is made available. Should Toronto continue to struggle, multiple first-round picks and a young talent could potentially move the needle on a deal.
These are just two star players who could become available, though, as you just never know which teams will struggle and which players will ask for a change of scenery. Trades play a huge role in how every single season plays out and will be the case yet again during the 2023-24 season.
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