Biggest question facing every Pacific Division team: Will Lakers make a trade? Where do Clippers go from here?

Before we know it the 2024-25 NBA season will be here, so between now and Oct. 22 we’ll be previewing the upcoming season in preparation for what should be another exciting campaign. With training camps set to start at the end of this month, right now is the perfect time to figure out what will be the biggest storylines or questions facing each team this season. We’re breaking it down division by division, and we’ve already looked at every team in the East and part of the West. For a deeper dive on all of those divisions you can find them here:

• Biggest question for every Central Division team
• Biggest question for every Southeast Division team
• Biggest question for every Southwest Division team

Now we’re going to take a look at the Pacific Division, which is perhaps the most puzzling of the three Western Conference divisions. Unlike to the other two West divisions, there isn’t a clear championship contender right now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get there. The Lakers have been sitting on their hands for quite some and are in need of some talent upgrades, will that finally happen this season? Will the young guys in Golden State fill the void left behind by Klay Thompson? Some of these questions may not get answered until the end of the season, or even a couple years from now, but they’re worth thinking about as the 2024-25 season nears.

Warriors: Is Brandin Podziemski ready?

Klay Thompson’s gone, and it’s going to take awhile adjusting to him in a new uniform. But part of the reason the Warriors stomached his exit was because they have high hopes for Podziemski. The second year guard earned All-Rookie honors, and through certain stretches of the season took Thompson’s starting spot from him. He’s obviously not the shooter Thompson is, but he shot 38.5% from deep, providing necessary spacing for Stephen Curry and the Warriors. Podziemski led the league in charges drawn with 38, and earned praise from Draymond Green last season for his defensive effort. USA Basketball even took notice and put him on the Select Team, which trained and scrimmaged with Team USA prior to them winning gold at the Paris Olympics.

Everything’s lining up for Podziemski to become the full-time starter for Golden State, but is he ready for a significant increase in his role? The Warriors didn’t land either of Paul George or Lauri Markkanen, who they hoped would fill that hole of a second star left by Thompson. They made some improvements to their depth by adding Kyle Anderson, De’Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield, which signals Golden State may be hoping that “strength in numbers” mantra they’ve used in the past holds true this season more than ever. But the Warriors didn’t land Markkanen in part because they didn’t want to include Podziemski in a deal. In fact, it was reported they were more willing to include Jonathan Kuminga, who was the third leading scorer last season, than Podziemski.

Based on all of that, the Warriors are banking that Podziemski can blossom into a star on this team. He’s shown flashes of being able to handle more, but we’ll need to see if he can be as effective with increased shot attempts, and overall more responsibility on both sides of the floor.

Clippers: Where do they go from here?

The Clippers not only lost Paul George, but let him walk for nothing. It’s very rare in today’s NBA that we see All-Star talent just walk out the door. Guys usually just sign deals then force their way out a year or so down the line with both teams walking away with assets. But L.A. didn’t want to give George the full max contract, which if that was the case, why not trade him back in February when they could’ve gotten something back for him? Or an even better question, if George’s time with the Clippers was going to end this way, why did they ever trade for James Harden if all they were going to get was six months of this trio? It just doesn’t make sense. 

The Clippers added Derrick Jones Jr., someone who played a pivotal role on a team that won the Western Conference a season ago. They also added Kris Dunn, who will help with defense, and has shown in the last two seasons that he can knock down a couple 3s, though at very low volume. But is this a team built to make a deep postseason run? They’ve got a 35 year old Harden, who averaged the fewest points since his second year in the league last season. Kawhi Leonard just signed a three-year $149.51 million extension that will pay him through 2027, which wouldn’t be a big deal if he routinely didn’t miss time with injuries, including in each of the Clippers last two playoff appearances.

You would think a team that has no control of any of its own first-round picks until 2030 would have some sort of plan through this situation, but they recouped zero assets by letting George walk, and seem to have no vision going forward as of this moment. 

Lakers: Is L.A. trading those picks?

Both L.A. teams figure to be in similar situations going into this season, but at least the Lakers have more wiggle room to improve right now. They’ve got first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 that they can trade, but we’re going on two years of them doing absolutely nothing with those picks so will this be the season it finally happens? History tells us no, because despite having LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a duo that clearly signals that your championship window is right now, the Lakers have done very little to put quality talent around them to legitimately contend for a championship. They’re just two years removed from a Western Conference finals appearance, but that same team lost in five games in the first round last season to the same Nuggets team that beat them in the conference finals two years ago.

If the plan is to contend, then the Lakers have to use those two first-round picks to upgrade the roster. LeBron isn’t getting any younger, and who knows how many more years he actually plans on playing. Davis is still just 32 years old, but wasting the best years of his career is just malpractice. I get it, trading those picks are risky when LeBron could decide to retire two years from now, and without them it would just deplete their assets going forward. But the Lakers put themselves in this position, so being cheap now make very little sense.

They were previously connected to Dejounte Murray on the trade market, and he’s since been dealt to the Pelicans. There was some buzz around Trae Young as well, but who knows if Young is still a viable option, or if that would even make the Lakers better. But as currently constructed this is a play-in team, and we’ll see if they’re satisfied with being just that based on what they do with those draft picks.

Suns: Will Budenholzer be the needed change?

Since making the NBA Finals in 2021, the Suns have fired two coaches, traded for Kevin Durant, traded an aging Chris Paul for an oft-injured Bradley Beal and have only made it as far as the second round of the playoffs. Last season we saw why you can’t build a “superteam” like you could under the old CBA rules, as the Suns put together a skeleton roster around their Big 3 of Durant, Beal and Devin Booker. It won them 49 games, a success in its own right, but they also got swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Timberwolves. They parted ways with Frank Vogel after just one season, and brought in Mike Budenholzer who led the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship against this Suns team.

Phoenix added Tyus Jones and Monte Morris to handle the point guard duties, something the Suns sorely needed a season ago, but given how quickly Vogel was let go, the biggest question here is if Budenholzer can last longer than the previous coach. Budenholzer was criticized during his Milwaukee tenure for his lack of in-game adjustments, but he’s also known for getting the very best out of his teams. He’ll unlock whatever untapped talent exists on this roster, and his Milwaukee teams regularly ranked near or at the top of the league in defense. 

But Vogel was also a defensive-minded coach with a championship and he was shown the door after just one season. The Suns ownership and front office obviously don’t have a great deal of patience, and given how expensive this roster is, that’s understandable. Budenholzer will have to differentiate himself from Vogel, otherwise it will look like a lateral move by Phoenix.

Kings: Does DeMar DeRozan make them better?

The Kings, like the Warriors, were the odd team out of the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference after falling to the Pelicans in a play-in game to secure the final postseason spot. It was a disappointing finish after this team finished third in the Western Conference two seasons ago and ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history. But the high-scoring — and No. 1 ranked — offense from 2023 fell to league average, and that’s what made the Kings a difficult team to beat. They added a savvy veteran in DeRozan, who is amongst the most lethal mid-range scorers in league history. DeRozan rarely misses games, which is a plus for someone who recently just turned 34 years old, and is incredibly consistent on the offensive side of the ball. He’s also one of the most clutch players in the league, which seems like a dream pairing with De’Aaron Fox, who won Clutch Player of the Year two seasons ago.

DeRozan’s offensive talents are undeniable, and he’ll certainly be useful in moments when the Kings need a bucket. Or when injuries pile up, like it did at the end of last season with Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. But from a big picture perspective, the fit is somewhat head scratching. The Kings averaged the third most 3s last season, and DeRozan’s never averaged even three 3-point attempts in a single season. He needs the ball in his hands to be the biggest threat, which is going to be an issue when you have guys like Fox and Domantas Sabonis who are also going to need the ball. He doesn’t help with floor spacing, and he certainly doesn’t help them on defense, something Sacramento already struggles with. DeRozan was able to hide a bit on the Bulls when Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball were both healthy and in the lineup, but the Kings don’t have two high-end defenders like that, so there’s more risk of him being exposed on that side of the ball. 

There’s the possibility — and likely what the Kings are banking on — that Sacramento returns to what it was doing in 2023, an unstoppable, historically efficient offense with a bottom tier defense. That won them 48 games two seasons ago, but that lack of a strong defensive presence also got them bounced in the first round of the playoffs. By not looking to improve defensively, and instead add another offensive weapon, the Kings are clearly hoping that DeRozan can be part of a team that will rely on just trying to outscore everyone.