2 days Ago By Eric Pincus
Running an NBA team is anything but relaxing. Underneath the day-to-day successes runs a current of free-floating anxiety. This extends from ownership through the front office to the coaching staff and even to the fanbase.
Health is the most common worry for every franchise. Can the team get through the day, week, month and season as close to full strength as possible without career-altering injuries? Beyond that obvious concern, the following is a list of each NBA team's biggest fear through the 2024-25 season. The Hawks are playing to win.
All teams should, but with Atlanta's first-round pick going to the San Antonio Spurs for Dejounte Murray (since dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans), the Hawks won't partake in the lottery directly—though they will get the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round pick, via the New Orleans Pelicans. The worst case for Atlanta would be the wheels falling off this season, be it injuries, talent, poor play, etc. Missing the postseason and landing the No.
1 overall pick for the Spurs would be the ultimate disaster. It's unlikely, but fears aren't always rational. The reigning champs can only fear one thing: taking a step backward.
The Celtics have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in six of the last eight years and reached the NBA Finals in two of the last three, winning it all this past June. Just a conference finals berth would be a letdown; so too would a loss in the Finals. Brooklyn is probably happy with its solid start.
Teams rarely dislike winning more games than expected early in the year, and perhaps the team even stays within play-in contention. But the Nets aren't on par with the East's contenders. Will there be a point at which the team focuses on development and the lottery, maybe trading veterans ahead of the February deadline? If so, these early wins may come back to haunt the franchise in the lottery.
The Hornets are not a team hoping to tank to the bottom. Instead, the franchise wants players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller to start playing winning basketball. The initial roadblock is the health of its big men, with Mark Williams (foot) and Nick Richards (ribs) sidelined with injuries.
The team doesn't have a healthy, viable center. With 15 players under standard contracts (veteran Taj Gibson has $1.1 million of his $3.
3 million deal guaranteed), the Hornets don't want to use up valuable resources on a position they don't otherwise need. The Bulls didn't commit to a rebuild but haven't been strong enough to win a playoff series since 2015. The team continues to win enough games to possibly make the playoffs, but it's never quite bad enough to get multiple elite lottery picks.
In a deal initially made to stay borderline competitive, Chicago still owes the San Antonio Spurs its upcoming 2025 first-round pick for DeMar DeRozan (since sent to the Sacramento Kings, primarily for second-round picks). That pick, however, is top-10 protected. Chicago's worst-case scenario involves losing in the play-in and missing the playoffs with no first-round pick to show for it, with the Spurs getting the Bulls' selection if it falls between Nos.
11 and 14. The Cavaliers have one of the best "fears" in the NBA. The team should only fear being unable to maintain the early chemistry it's found to start the season.
Whatever Cleveland is doing, it's working. The Cavs are the only undefeated team in the NBA (9-0, through games played on Wednesday). Other fears may crop up as the year progresses, but right now, the goal is just to maintain what's working.
Adding Klay Thompson's shooting to help the Mavericks through the regular season makes plenty of sense, particularly given the attention stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving get from opposing defenses. The more significant issue may be in the postseason. Can the Mavericks play all three with playoff games on the line? Can three non-defenders (Thompson was tremendous in his day, but injuries have limited his mobility) win close games despite what they bring on offense? And if it's an issue, how will Thompson take to sitting in those moments? The Nuggets have gradually lost their championship depth (first Bruce Brown Jr.
and Jeff Green, then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope). With an expensive roster and limited flexibility, the franchise is banking on its younger, cheaper players to step into impact roles. The fear is that they don't.
Denver needs players like Christian Brown, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther to deliver on the biggest stage. If they don't, the franchise may just not have enough to compete for another title despite Nikola Jokić continuing as one of the league's absolute best players. The Pistons didn't believe they were awful the last few years, but they were.
The team had playoff aspirations, but injuries, chemistry and lack of talent led to a 14-win season. Unfortunately, the lottery dropped them to No. 5 for the third year in a row (the most notable miss was in 2023 with No.
1 pick Victor Wembanyama). Now, the team hopes to show that they're not a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference and that their max extension for Cade Cunningham was worthwhile. The Pistons don't need to storm the playoffs, but they must show that they've turned the corner into a viable, semi-competitive franchise.
The fear is they end up back at the bottom...
with another No. 5 draft pick. This is a nitpick, because the Warriors are off to a fantastic start.
Stephen Curry had chronic ankle issues early in his career, and a recent tweak cost him a few games. Golden State could be a contender this year, but that's all built around the league's greatest shooter being healthy. There's no reason to think anything of it, but Curry and his ankles may still produce a tinge of anxiety for the Warriors.
Jalen Green's recent rookie-scale extension was the most perplexing. The Rockets gave him a three-year, $105.3 million deal with a player option on the final season.
At Green's salary level, most franchises lock in at least four years and have team control to get out early. Instead, Green has the power, and he's been a force for the franchise early through the 2024-25 season. This one may take some time to manifest, but the Rockets may regret giving out the short extension (allowing Green to get to free agency sooner with an even larger payday).
The Pacers are already facing injury fears, with both backup centers (James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson) suffering season-ending Achilles injuries. The challenge for the team will be filling those spots, as there are few quality, impact centers available in free agency. The team saw Jalen Smith leave for the Chicago Bulls in free agency and previously waived Goga Bitadze in 2023.
The team may need to give up resources to fill a hole it thought was filled before the season with Wiseman and Jackson. The Clippers have struggled early without Kawhi Leonard (knee). The hope is that he eventually returns to play and the team makes a credible playoff run.
The team's concern is that Leonard isn't a regular player, the losing mounts, and the franchise wins the lottery. There is nothing like giving the Oklahoma City Thunder both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Duke's Cooper Flagg for Paul George (since departed to the Philadelphia 76ers). The Thunder, one of the best teams in the NBA, have swap rights and may give the Clippers a pick in the Nos.
27-30 as consolation. The Lakers' big offseason acquisition was a retired shooting guard to take over coaching duties from Darvin Ham. The initial returns seem positive.
The team still has roster holes, but nearly everyone around the team sings JJ Redick's praises. L.A.
still needs to add some size and may be short a guard who can both defend and score (currently, D'Angelo Russell can do the latter; reserve Gabe Vincent just the former). But the Lakers' biggest fear has to be getting back to the playoffs only to get beaten badly again by the Denver Nuggets (who have beaten Los Angeles in eight of their last nine postseason battles). The Grizzlies were a force in the Western Conference through the 2022-23 season, winning 51 games before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in a hard-fought first-round series.
Unfortunately, Ja Morant had a couple of off-course incidents, the second leading to a 25-game suspension for posing with a firearm on social media . A shoulder injury stalled his return to play. Memphis is still finding its way back to contention, and by all accounts, Morant has been fully committed to his team.
Still, an underlying fear could remain that the two-time All-Star may have a repeat lack of judgment. The Heat must decide soon on Jimmy Butler's long-term future with the club. He has a player option for 2025-26 at a sizable number ($52.
4 million) that may be too much if he's not going to be with the team beyond his current deal. The fear might be Butler pushing for a trade, but Miami finds a dry market, given his salary. Or worse, he suffers an injury and opts into his deal next year to further limit the team's flexibility.
The Bucks have one of the best players in the NBA, but the vibe has gradually shifted to their greatest fear—Giannis Antetokounmpo demanding a trade. It hasn't happened yet, but most of the league has close eyes on what may come to pass. Milwaukee hasn't successfully replenished its talent base since the 2021 championship run.
Damian Lillard is an elite offensive talent, but the Bucks can't get the stops to win close regular-season games (let alone playoff battles). The franchise carries a hefty payroll, a burden they've been willing to bear, but that's limited their flexibility to improve. If a team like the Houston Rockets made this kind of offer , the Bucks might be unable to refuse (assuming Antetokounmpo decides to play the villain role and force his way out).
Financially, the Timberwolves couldn't realistically carry its prior payroll with Karl-Anthony Towns. The strict rules of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement made that untenable. But there's an argument to be made that the team should have dealt with whatever penalties they faced to give last year's squad another chance to win.
It's rare to advance to the Western Conference Finals (losing the Dallas Mavericks in five games). As talented as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo may be, significant change like that may not result in anything near the same level of success. Minnesota must be confident in the decision, perhaps thinking they had no choice because of NBA economics.
Below the surface, though, the Timberwolves may hold a slight fear that their window has already closed. The Pelicans have gotten off to a rough start, but that's due to multiple injuries, including to the offseason's primary acquisition (Dejounte Murray, hand). Once healthy, the Pelicans should climb in the standings.
But the team has some more significant questions to resolve, notably Brandon Ingram's extension—or, in its absence, a trade. The team can finish the season with Ingram and see what comes in free agency, but if he's not the right fit alongside the core of Zion Williamson and Murray, they should get value back for Ingram in a trade. The franchise historically doesn't pay luxury taxes and, like last year, started the season a little over the NBA's $170.
8 million threshold. New Orleans was able to dump Kira Lewis Jr. to get out by the deadline; this year, the franchise doesn't have the same expendable salary.
The fear is that there won't be a market for Ingram or that the former All-Star will suffer an injury that tanks his value. The Knicks have advanced deep into the second round in each of the last two seasons, but they have fallen short of the Eastern Conference Finals. Searching to push the team further, New York was very active this summer in adding high-level veterans like Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Did a lack of health shorten last year's run, or was it a deeper issue? The Knicks clearly thought it was the latter, but did they overcorrect? Can they maintain their defensive identity with Towns at center? Will the team fully regain that same chemistry? The early returns are mixed, but it's a long season. The Thunder are just too well put together. The rest of the West should fear Oklahoma City, not the other way around.
Oklahoma City can afford to be patient, allowing its younger players to attack the playoffs without massive expectations. The team's finances are in order; it has a long list of future draft considerations culled from others via trade. Isaiah Hartenstein (hand) hasn't even played yet.
If there's something the team fears, it's hard to identify beyond the normal day-to-day anxiety of hoping to succeed as quickly as possible. After returning to the postseason for the first time since 2020, the Magic lost a hard-fought seven-game series to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, the team has started slowly this season with injuries to Paolo Banchero (oblique) and Wendell Carter Jr.
(foot). Orlando should level out, but if the franchise continues to struggle, perhaps the heavy investments into its current makeup (Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jonathan Isaac, Carter, etc.) were a bit premature.
Banchero is all but certain to get a maximum extension next year, but do the pieces fit together well enough? It's too early to say, but that underlying fear has to exist. As noted, every team is worried about injuries, but the Sixers may be the face of it this season. The franchise was able to hoard enough cap room to bring in Paul George in free agency on a long-term, $212 million contract to pair with recent league MVP Joel Embiid.
Unfortunately, Embiid and George don't have the best postseason health records. George was more available for the LA Clippers than Kawhi Leonard, but the Sixers' foundation may be similarly built on pillars of sand. The Suns have one of the NBA's highest payrolls, teaming up scorers Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Mat Ishbia, who took ownership of the team in early 2023, chose to steer into the league's new restrictive collective bargaining agreement penalties for high spenders with hopes the high-end talent would be enough to win. Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the team out of the first round. Phoenix fired head coach Frank Vogel and brought in Mike Budenholzer.
The biggest fear would be another weak, early first-round exit. Scoot Henderson was the Blazers' No. 3 overall pick in 2023, but the 20-year-old point guard has struggled to establish himself in the NBA.
He's talented but turnover-prone. Henderson's (career) shooting is rough at 38.7 percent from the field and 31.
9 percent from three-point range. The Blazers must be concerned since they have Henderson coming off the bench, with Anfernee Simons and Deni Avdija starting in the backcourt. It's rare for a team to get that high in the draft, and it's hard to overcome a miss.
It's too early to count out Henderson, but the fear remains. The Kings have had tremendous firepower since acquiring Domantas Sabonis in 2022. The team's primary offseason acquisition was DeMar DeRozan, another scorer.
Sacramento should be able to keep up with the best in the league on offense. The fear is the franchise isn't good enough defensively, especially in the playoffs, to advance to contender status. For each viral clip of Gregg Popovich getting salty with a reporter who asked a question he didn't like, there are many on-camera or behind-the-scenes moments where he's a kind, thoughtful, funny and, yes, intense human being.
Basketball is a game. The Spurs' most significant priority is the legendary coach's return to full health. As part of the Pascal Siakam trade, the Raptors got back Bruce Brown Jr.
from the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors chose to pick up Brown's $23 million team option for 2024-25 despite his production not being in line with his compensation. The goal is to turn his contract around in trade ahead of the deadline, ideally to a team with playoff hopes willing to give up youth and/or draft considerations for the veteran.
Brown hasn't played yet this season because of a knee injury. The fear is that Toronto can't find a trade partner, doesn't make the playoffs, and doesn't get value out of its third-highest-paid player. The Jazz are one of the standout teams at the bottom of the standings, getting an early start on the lottery chase.
The loss of Taylor Hendricks (leg, ankle) was already a worst-case scenario. For Utah, it's just a fear that they finish the season with the worst record in the league but the lottery balls are unfavorable (like with the Detroit Pistons over the last couple of years). The Wizards are a long way off from being a competitive NBA franchise.
The concern is that the rebuild will take "forever." That's an exaggeration but an understandable one. The team has a mismatch of veterans like Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole, Jonas Valančiūnas and Richaun Holmes—and many young developing prospects, including Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington.
So far, there are no real signs that it's coming together (outside of Coulibaly making some promising sophomore strides). The franchise just can't afford any real developmental setbacks or missed picks. Email Eric Pincus at eric.
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