The Whiteboard is FanSided's daily NBA email newsletter with different perspectives coming to you from our entire team. Once a week, we get everyone together for a roundtable to answer the biggest questions of the week. Here's what we're talking about today:
Will this contract stuff affect Kawhi Leonard’s Hall-of-Fame odds? Should it?
Terrence Jordan: No, nor should it. Kawhi and the Clippers may end up being hit in some way by the NBA’s hammer of justice thanks to Pablo Torre’s reporting, but while that could mean Kawhi’s contract being voided or the Clippers losing draft picks, it won’t have anything to do with his eventual Hall of Fame induction in Springfield. This isn’t like betting on games or taking performance-enhancing drugs, it’s more akin to cheating on your taxes. Kawhi’s two Finals MVPs and reputation as one of the best perimeter defenders of all time are too much to ignore.
Matt Moore: No, he’s bulletproof at this point. Two titles, one as the best player, multiple playoff wins, MVP-caliber season in 2017, and DPOY. This wasn’t a violation of gameplay. He didn’t compromise the integrity of the game; he compromised the integrity of the CBA system, which is an owner construct. I think Kawhi might be the most overstated player in today’s NBA, but he’s not overrated and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who will give the worst speech in Hall history.
Mat Rutkowski: I can’t think of an instance in the past where this kind of thing was a factor in one’s Hall-of-Fame case, so I can’t exactly point at precedent. Honestly, this would make a difference to me if I had a vote. But, I kind of feel like his Hall-of-Fame case was written by the time he left Toronto. Even if you wanted to throw out everything from the Aspiration money onwards, you’re throwing out, what, maybe 10 percent of his case for induction? 5 percent? I feel like it should affect his odds, but like with any long-term commitment, it’s important to add a bit of risk and include some red-flags. For excitement.
Eamon Cassels: Kawhi Leonard has had a strange career, and this scandal only makes his career more of an anomaly. However, that shouldn't change his Hall of Fame credentials. The Claw is a two-time Finals MVP, a two-time DPOY, a seven-time All-Defensive team member, and a six-time All-Star. Additionally, Leonard finished in the top three of MVP twice. If this scandal happened to a lesser player, there could be an argument for him not to make the Hall of Fame, but Leonard is simply too accomplished.
Zach Rotman: It won’t, and it shouldn’t. Kawhi Leonard is a two-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, a six-time All-Star, do I really need to go on? The accolades speak for themselves for one of the greatest two-way superstars of his generations. Kawhi didn’t cheat the game in any way on the court, which means his Hall of Fame case won’t be impacted whatsoever. I do think his contract could get voided, though, which might hurt him personally more than his Hall of Fame legacy, as insane as that sounds.
Christopher Kline: No, it won’t. And no, it shouldn’t. My general feeling toward this whole fraudulent tree business is amusement. It’s probably not great if this ends up emboldening other (primarily big-market) teams to skirt around the tax and bend the league’s finances in their favor, but this sounds more like than Uncle Dennis scandal than a Kawhi Leonard scandal, to be frank, and it has nothing to do with basketball. Leonard is a two-time Finals MVP, something Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić (as of yet) cannot claim. Injuries will be a large part of the story when looking back on Leonard’s career after his retirement, but in terms of peak — and in terms of accomplishments, especially in the postseason — there’s nothing to keep him out of the Hall.
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When will the first coach firing happen this season, and who will it be?
Terrence Jordan: Willie Green coached through a year from hell with the Pelicans last season that saw nearly every player of consequence suffer through a serious injury, and a dismal 21-win season was the result. The pressure will be on for a big improvement, as Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are all expected to be ready for the start of the season. Dejounte Murray should also make it back eventually from his torn Achilles, but there’s still no reason to believe the Pels can contend in a deep, talented Western Conference. New Orleans could pull the plug on Green at the All-Star Break if the team is out of contention.
Matt Moore: It can’t be the coach of a team expected to be bad; it has to be a team expected to be decent that wildly disappoints, and the wheels fall off. Doug Christie is my choice. Christie was given the reins after the team scapegoated Mike Brown and managed to bring them all the way to … the play-in. Domantas Sabonis has hinted at his patience running short. Their big move was signing Dennis Schröder, FIBA legend and NBA underwhelming starter. If things go sideways, DeRozan gets traded, and maybe Sabonis. That’s the kind of environment that’s ripe for an impetuous move.
Mat Rutkowski: The best way to find the next coach to be fired is to look at the list of coaches who most recently won Coach of the Year. Many of the coaches who seemed likely to be fired from this list already were. Mike Brown? Constantly getting fired. Tom Thibsidy Dibs? Gone. Nick Nurse was already let go from the position he won COTY from. Mike Brown too. This leaves us with Mark Daigneault, Kenny Atkinson, and Steve Kerr. Does Steve Kerr fight against the idea of upping Kuminga’s trade value through minutes and get sacked? Do the Cavs flame out in a really gross fashion that makes Kenny look bad? Maybe. I see Mark not being properly deferential on Charlie Kirk Night and being run out of town.
Eamon Cassels: Frankly, I was surprised that Willie Green kept his job under new management after a disappointing 21-61 season. Yes, the New Orleans Pelicans were riddled with injuries, but most coaches aren't given the same luxury after such a poor season. Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver made the ultimate gamble by trading away their 2026 first-round pick to trade up for Derik Queen. Nevertheless, they aren't clearly better than anyone in the West other than the Utah Jazz. As a result, the Pelicans could get off to a slow start, and don't expect the front office to be patient with Green.
Zach Rotman: For reasons only the Milwaukee Bucks franchise can really explain, they continue to be in win-now mode. I mean, they were willing to waive and stretch Damian Lillard only to sign Myles Turner. Even in this incredibly weak Eastern Conference, I have a hard time envisioning a team led by Giannis, Turner and, well, who even knows, going on any type of run. In fact, I’d expect them to get off to such a poor start to the point where a desperate Bucks team fires another head coach, which Doc Rivers losing his job sometime around Christmas.
Christopher Kline: Doc Rivers is definitely a candidate. Doug Christie has to know the Kings never commit to these relationships. If the Sixers hit a skid out of the gate, Nick Nurse’s seat probably gets warm. But at the end of the day, it’s easy to draw the line from “incoherent front office strategy” to “midseason coach firing.” As such, Willie Green of the Pelicans is a strong bet. I think he’s a good coach, but he has been dealt a bad hand and New Orleans certainly isn’t planning to tank after trading away its unprotected 2026 first-round pick. Expecting Zion to stay healthy is like expecting to win the lottery, and New Orleans’ splashy offseason additions – Jordan Poole, Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen – are, um, not going to help on defense.
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Which team will improve its win total most this season?
Terrence Jordan: It has to be the Sixers, right? Everything went wrong for Philly last year, but unlike the Pelicans, they’ll have significantly fewer roadblocks in their path back to contention. Is Joel Embiid going to be healthy? Who can say with any degree of certainty, but a young core of Tyrese Maxey, a healthy Jared McCain and rookie VJ Edgecombe is a nice foundation. Paul George will be motivated to prove that he still has something in the tank, and we can’t forget about Quentin Grimes’ ascension into a real two-way threat. The Sixers might come close to doubling last season’s 24 wins.
Matt Moore: How about the Miami Heat? If the Davion Mitchell late-season fit is real, that’s a major addition for a full season. Norman Powell is a major offensive upgrade. Internal development with Kel’El Ware and potentially Nikola Jovic or Jaime Jaquez. A bounce-back season from Bam Adebayo. More than anything, Miami is free of the stank cloud that Jimmy Butler flatulated across the locker room all season. The air is clear, the East is weak, and the Heat will be much better this year.
Mat Rutkowski: Well, the Pistons are going undefeated, so that’s a jump of 38 wins. I can see the Spurs, and the Sixers, and the Hawks, and whoever else, but unfortunately every team will have to play the Pistons, and they will all lose. Jaden Ivey is returning from injury, which is plus-12 in the win column. Internal improvements from Cade, Duren, and the aforementioned Ivey should count for plus-20. Beef Stew has put on 23 pounds of void energy, which will help in the paint as long as he can keep his minutes up. That’s another plus-8, and we’re already at 84 wins out of a possible 82 before we get to the really motivating letter I sent to Tobias Harris. If Vegas places their over/under anywhere below 80.5, you have to take it.
Eamon Cassels: The Spurs seem like an easy pick to me. Victor Wembanyama is fully healthy, entering his third season, and will now have a full year of playing next to De'Aaron Fox. This, paired with internal improvements from guys like Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell, makes it hard not to imagine the Spurs making a jump in the standings. Furthermore, Dylan Harper is an NBA-ready rookie, and they upgraded their big man depth behind Wemby by signing Luke Kornet and trading for Kelly Olynyk. Ultimately, the Spurs feel poised to smash last year's win total of 34 games and could make some noise in the West.
Zach Rotman: I’m going to go with the Orlando Magic. Just about everything that could’ve gone wrong for Orlando last season did, including their two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, suffering the same exact injury just a couple of months apart. Despite their rotten luck, Orlando was able to finish with a .500 record. The team should be healthier this season, and they acquired Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies. I thought they drastically overpaid to acquire him, but Bane gives them an elite marksman to spread the floor around Banchero and Wagner, which was desperately needed. Orlando’s defense was elite last season, but its offense left a lot to be desired. Better health and a strong showing from Bane should improve that side of the game a ton, and the defense, led by a healthier season from Jalen Suggs, should shine too. The Magic could easily be a top three seed in this Eastern Conference and should see their record improve a ton.
Christopher Kline: God bless Terrence for having the guts to say what others are afraid to: what if the Sixers are good, actually? Joel Embiid is in the practice facility earlier than usual and he looks to be in peak physical condition (Yes, you can definitely tell from the four-second clip and sparse images released by the undercover agents at Sixers PR.) Paul George might be healthy one day. Tyrese Maxey has a chip on his shoulder. Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe are both fun, dynamic young players. Philly has all the talent needed to make a run in the East. But I know how this ends, all too well. Something catastrophically dumb will happen, Embiid will be thrust back into a cycle of injury torment, and the Sixers fanbase will be left to solemnly eat ice cream and raise their spirits with a midnight screening of Bringing Up Baby. That said, even though I know better, I’m still picking the Sixers. A 48-win season would be double last season’s total!
If you had to bet on one team to win 60 games this season and the three who did it last year — Celtics, Cavs, Thunder — were off the board, who would you pick?
Terrence Jordan: Trusting Nikola Jokić is generally a good idea, and the team made some key moves this offseason to give him a better supporting cast, so I’m going with the Nuggets. I love the Cam Johnson fit, and this team won a title when Bruce Brown was the glue guy. Now he’s back, along with Tim Hardaway Jr. to help handle the scoring load, and Jonas Valančiūnas to help Jokić in the frontcourt. Denver won 50 games last year but has never won more than 57 in franchise history. I could see them eclipsing that number and joining the Thunder atop the West.
Matt Moore: I have a hotter take than picking a team. No team outside of the Thunder will win 60. I have the Cavaliers right at 60, but their injury situation entering the season with no Darius Garland and no Max Strus removes margin for error. No one else is crossing 60. We’re in a parity league. The Celtics had the formula to get there consistently. I have the Nuggets and Rockets just under before injury luck. Everybody between 55 and 40, and seven bad teams. That’s it. Welcome to the new NBA.
Mat Rutkowski: Minus the Pistons as established earlier? Matt (with two t’s) pretty much outlines how I feel. I see it being closer to how it was in 2023-24 when the Celtics were just the best team, and everyone else was looking in the mirror and hyping themselves up before going outside. The best I have is a guess, and that would be the New York Knicks. They showed flashes of being better than a 51 win team last year, but now they’ll have a year of experience together with the core, an improved roster, and (quite clearly in my mind, anyway) an upgrade at coach. With the Celtics, Pacers, and probably Bucks all losing stars to injury and trade, there will be additional wins available in the Eastern Conference. New York could do it.
Eamon Cassels: Outside of the Thunder and Cavs, I don't see any team exceeding 60 wins. However, the Knicks have the best chance in my eyes. Playing in the Eastern Conference certainly factors into this equation, as the Rockets and Nuggets have better rosters. Nevertheless, the Knicks won 51 games last year and significantly upgraded the league's lowest scoring bench. Malcolm Brogdon, Guerschon Yabusele, and Jordan Clarkson give the Knicks a serviceable bench to complement an elite starting five. Perhaps head coach Mike Brown can also help get some more wins. Especially with the Celtics taking a step back, I anticipate the Knicks being within striking distance of the Cavs.
Zach Rotman: I, too, am going to reluctantly say the New York Knicks have the best chance. I’d actually go as far as to say they will eclipse the 60-win mark. I don’t love their roster, but they won 55 games in a better conference with a bench that was practically non-existent. With guys like Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele now in town, the floor of this team is higher, especially assuming they get more than 17 regular season games from Mitchell Robinson off their bench. The Knicks have the same core in place and have drastically improved the surrounding pieces. I’d be surprised if this team didn’t win 60+ games and isn’t one of the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference.
Christopher Kline: I agree with the points on parity outlined above, but if required to pick a team, I still have to go with the Philadelphia 76ers. Just kidding. It’s the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokić is not slowing down and the team is so much deeper this season following the additions of Cam Johnson, Jonas Valančiūnas and Bruce Brown. Denver has dealt with a nagging injury bug for the last couple years, but Jokić is the best player in the world and a tide lifting all boats. If Denver can keep its core relatively intact for 82 games, they can challenge most anyone in the West.
Who leads the league in minutes played this season?
Terrence Jordan: This is no longer an easy question now that Tom Thibodeau was so rudely dismissed from the Knicks. Three of his players finished top five in minutes per game last year, including Mikal Bridges at number one, and I’ll bet that Mike Brown uses his bench a bit more as a gesture of goodwill to his roster. Let me go instead with Devin Booker, who finished third behind Bridges and Nikola Jokić last year, but will no longer be able to count (or not count?) on Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Booker is going to get all the playing time and shots he wants on this rebuilding Suns team, and I’ll make a bold prediction that he not only leads the league in minutes, he also wins the scoring title.
Matt Moore: Derrick White. Never hurt. Always available. Thin rotation. Low impact game, low injury risk. He was 20th in minutes last year when the Celtics could rest him; they can’t now.
Mat Rutkowski: I have to go with Anthony Edwards. It just feels like his turn. He has the young legs, the desire to carry the team both on offense and on defense as best he can, and a history of big minutes. Seems like the boring answer, but things are too interesting nowadays. Way too interesting.
Eamon Cassels: This might be a surprising pick, but I am going with Domantas Sabonis. While he ranked just 33rd in total minutes last season, he also ranked second in total minutes in the 2023-24 season. Sabonis has played in 70-plus games in each of the past three seasons. The Kings' big man rotation is ultra-thin, while their guard and wing depth is actually pretty solid. As a result, I expect the Kings to lean on Sabonis a lot.
Zach Rotman: I’m going to go with Tyrese Maxey. Tom Thibodeau is constantly slammed for overplaying his starters, and rightfully so, but Thibodeau’s knack to do so perhaps a touch more aggressively than Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse has allowed Nurse to fly under the radar in this regard. Back in Nurse’s Toronto Raptors days, guys like Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet were playing heavy minutes annually, and Maxey has done so in each of Nurse’s first two seasons with the Sixers.
Maxey averaged 37.5 minutes per game in the 2023-24 campaign, tying him for the second-most in the NBA. He followed that up by averaging 37.7 minutes per game this past season, a mark that would’ve led the NBA if he had played enough games to qualify. Maxey is just 24 years old and prior to last season, durability hasn’t been an issue. There’s a good amount of guard talent on this team, especially assuming Quentin Grimes returns, but I still think Nurse is going to find ways to ensure Maxey is on the court for 37-38 minutes per game. His job is on the line following last season’s monstrosity, and leaning heavily on Maxey, especially since he can’t do so with Embiid, is his best way to save it.