With training camp for the encroaching 2024-25 NBA season less than two weeks away, it’s time to take stock of the outlook for all 30 teams.
We’ll start our appraisal with one of the more well-stocked divisions in the Eastern Conference — the Central Division, home to three fringe title contenders and two 2025 NBA Draft lottery hopefuls.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee had an uneven 2023-24 run, marred by behind-the-scenes drama. First-year head coach Adrian Griffin, hired in part to appease All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, lasted all of 43 games before getting canned. The Bucks poached 2008 champ Doc Rivers from his broadcasting career with ABC/ESPN and The Ringer midseason, and swapped out streaky guard Cameron Payne for a past-his-prime Patrick Beverley.
During its first season with All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, Milwaukee went 49-33, good enough for the East’s third seed but surely a far cry from the record it wanted. Injuries to Lillard and Antetokounmpo throughout the club’s first round series against the Indiana Pacers ultimately cost Milwaukee mightily, and it fell in six games.
The capped-out Bucks enjoyed a sneakily tactical 2024 offseason, outside of drafting some fairly raw rookies in Al Johnson and Tyler Smith.
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Milwaukee’s biggest offseason moment came when the team signed free agent shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. to a stunning veteran’s minimum deal. Trent, coming off a three-year, $51.8 million contract with the Toronto Raptors, probably couldn’t have commanded quite that much on the open market this time around, but he certainly could have earned a deal within the range of a full mid-level exception. Instead, he’s inking a prove-it deal, and is projected to become the Bucks’ new starting shooting guard, alongside his former Portland Trail Blazers comrade Lillard in the backcourt. The Bucks also signed Delon Wright and Taurean Prince, two solid perimeter defenders with decent jumpers.
Provided aging vets Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez can stay healthy (Antetokounmpo, who’ll turn 30 this season, is also no spring chicken), the Bucks could have a real opportunity to go deep into the playoffs once again.
Indiana Pacers
The up-and-coming Pacers, who finished with the East’s No. 6 seed and a 47-35 record, may have snuck into the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals thanks to major injuries incurred by all the All-Stars on the Bucks and New York Knicks (plus basically every New York rotation player).
The eventual champion Boston Celtics swept the underdog Pacers en route to the Finals, but Indiana’s robust run was encouraging, and certainly indicative of great small-market roster construction.
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Indiana’s midseason trade to acquire ex-Toronto Raptors All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam was a crucial game-changer. Adding Siakam helped bolster the club’s frontcourt, as he instantly became a critical two-way fulcrum and helped free up 3-and-D center Myles Turner a bit defensively. Ultimately, the Pacers go as All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton goes.
The young budding superstar had a summer to forget as an afterthought on Team USA’s 2024 Olympic roster, but his career is clearly trending upward following his best individual season yet with the Pacers. The club has the guard assets to swing for another veteran in a trade. It might behoove Indiana to make another Siakam-esque deal this season if it hopes to get out of the East.
Cleveland Cavaliers
This spring, the Cavaliers won a playoff series for the first time since LeBron James donned the wine and gold back in 2018. This summer, Cleveland signed stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen — plus reserve wing Isaac Okoro — to long-term extensions, but didn’t do much to disrupt its roster otherwise. The biggest change happened on the sidelines, where the Cavaliers replaced former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff with former title-winning Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.
Like they have during both their seasons with Donovan Mitchell co-quarterbacking the offense alongside fellow All-Star guard Darius Garland, the Cavaliers figure to win a lot of regular season games. The real question that will dog this franchise for the time being, however is one of floor spacing: can Mobley or Allen ever develop a jumper that can be counted upon in the playoffs?
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Chicago Bulls
After two seasons of pretending to want to win but finishing as a ninth seed and a play-in tournament also-ran, Chicago’s front office appeared to minimally acknowledge it was headed nowhere fast with a deeply flawed, veteran-heavy roster.
The Bulls offloaded two of their best three players this summer, flipping All-Defensive Second Team guard Alex Caruso to the contending Oklahoma City Thunder and letting All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan depart for the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade. Chicago selected former G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and signed center Jalen Smith after prior backup Andre Drummond left in free agency. Otherwise the club didn’t make a lot of moves, as it embraces the tank.
Still, with talented scorers like Coby White, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic still on the roster (though for how long is anyone’s guess), the Bulls might inadvertently win more games than they’d like to for a team eyeing the 2025 draft lottery. That said, it’s hard to see them securing more than 30 victories this season.
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Detroit Pistons
After finishing with an NBA-worst 14-68 record in 2023-24, the Pistons canned pricey head coach Monty Williams after the first season of a six-year, $78 million agreement and replaced him with ex-Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, fresh off three consecutive postseason appearances (and two straight playoff berths).
Detroit just drafted former G League Ignite combo forward Ron Holland with the No. 5 overall pick. The 6-foot-7 wing will now join the Pistons’ talented-but-raw core of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duren. The Pistons should improve this year, but it seems likely this will be another rebuilding season, with a talented 2025 NBA Draft class awaiting another paltry record.
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