The Whiteboard: The 2024-25 NBA season will be a passing of the torch

Barring injuries, who looks like a lock for the playoffs in the Western Conference?

I know, training camps haven't even opened yet, but ... humor me.

Thunder should be near the top of the list. The Mavericks made the finals last season, unlocked something with the lineup around Luka Doncic and then improved on it this offseason. Anthony Edwards doesn't seem like he's going to let the Timberwolves slip any time soon. Nikola Jokic is still the best player in the league. Put them in pen and that leaves four more playoff teams to pencil in.

There's the Suns, Clippers, Lakers and Warriors. But there's also the Kings, who added DeMar DeRozan. The Grizzlies, who will have Ja Morant back and healthy. The Pelicans, who picked up Dejounte Murray. The Houston Rockets who were one of the most dangerous teams in the league over the second-half of last season. And the Spurs, who may have an MVP candidate in Victor Wembanyama have certainly signaled they have no intention of fading a playoff opportunity.

It's a parlay for the damned but it there's a reasonable chance we could be pointed toward a postseason without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Steph Curry, Draymond Green or Kevin Durant.

The phenomenon in the East isn't quite as dramatic but another season of attrition on Damian Lillard and a further depleted bench could put the Bucks in a precarious position. Donovan Mitchell confirmed his commitment to the Cavs but they're fragile too. Jimmy Butler doesn't miss in the playoffs, but he'll need to help carry the Heat through an increasingly imposing gauntlet that features rising teams like the Pacers, Magic and maybe even the Raptors.

Hindsight is 20/20 and, looking back, the 2023-24 season may have been a turning point, a soft reset for an even harsher one in 2024-25.

The NBA has a new elite

Of the 26 players who made the All-Star team (with injury replacements), four were first-timers and two more were there for just the second time. The top four seeds in both conferences had combined for just four total Finals appearances in the previous decade. Preseason favorites like the Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, 76ers, Clippers and Heat, were all out of the playoffs in the first round or missed the postseason entirely.

The Nuggets and Celtics were still fantastic and the season ended with a championship for Boston. But we also saw the Knicks finish with a top-two seed and make the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in a decade. The Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a decade. The Magic were back in the playoffs after a three-year hiatus and finished above 0.500 for just the second time since 2011. The Timberwolves finished with the No. 3 seed, a Western Conference Finals appearance and their best record since 2003-04, which was also the last time they made the Conference Finals. Luka Doncic finally broke through and helped carry the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since 2011. And the Thunder finished with the No. 1 seed in the West for the first time since 2013-14.

Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis — these stars and their teams have defined the NBA over the past decade. But last season we saw a new power structure emerge and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson seem ready to supplant them, not just in terms of media attention and popularity but in the tangible manifestations of NBA success — wins, trophies, championships.

The Warriors, Lakers, Suns, Bucks and Clippers are still there, still ready to challenge and to play spoiler. But they're no longer the favorites and they are all teams clearly on a downward trajectory. If last season was about the new guard emerging and announcing their arrival. The theme of this season could very well be them completing the challenge and remaking the league in their own image.

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NBA news roundup:

• Last week, Joel Embiid signed a three-year, $192.9 million extension with the 76ers. Between that extension and his current contract, he'll be under the 76ers' control until the end of the 2028-29 season when he'll be 35 years old. It's looking more and more likely that he could be a Sixer-for-Life.

• The Warriors haven't hit the punitive second luxury tax apron but staying beneath it is still limiting them. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors will likely have to leave their 15th roster spot open. That means players like Nassir Little or Justin Holiday who pursue a camp invite will have to play well enough to force the Warriors to cut the non-guaranteed contracts of Lindy Waters or Gui Santos in order to stick.

• Zach LaVine was not traded this offseason but he was present at player-organized minicamp in August and the Bulls are expecting him to be a full participant in trading camp — no holdout or line-in-the-sand trade demands seem likely.

An all-new version of The Whiteboard

The Whiteboard, our daily email NBA newsletter here at FanSided, has been around for years and been through several different iterations. We've continually been looking for ways to keep it fresh and engaging and this year, we're trying something new.

We're going to split up the week between five of our NBA experts — myself, Wes Goldberg, Nevin Brown, Lior Lampert and Chris Kline. One day a week, we'll each take a hand at steering you through the biggest news and storylines of the NBA helping you understand what you're seeing and pointing out what you might have missed. That's five experts with five different perspectives, overlapping and collaborating and giving you the best NBA coverage around.

We already have big plans for special projects and features, but for now, we're focused on re-launching The Whiteboard and getting you ready for the beginning of the NBA season. So, if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe, tell a friend and start reading.