By John Hollinger / The Athletic, 2026-10-08 17:30:43
篮球是一项由球星驱动的运动，最重要的永远是那些明星球员。勒布朗·詹姆斯、科怀·伦纳德、扬尼斯·阿德托昆博和杰伦·布朗等球星在这个NBA休赛期改换门庭，无疑是最大的新闻，我们也会密切关注他们的影响力。
在球星之下，还有一类我称之为“枢纽”的球员。这些人或许算不上球星，但他们在球队中扮演着至关重要的角色——而我们尚不知道他们最终会成功还是沉沦。
最典型的例子就是克利夫兰的佩顿·沃森。骑士队几乎用光了所有交易筹码，通过先签后换从丹佛掘金队将他招致麾下，送出了另外两名轮换球员和仅剩的一枚可交易首轮签，只为填补一个过去三个季后赛一直困扰克利夫兰的角色空缺。
从纸面上看，沃森很可能是骑士队第五好的球员，而排在他前面的四位——詹姆斯·哈登、多诺万·米切尔、埃文·莫布利和贾勒特·艾伦——都至少入选过一次全明星。然而，球队本赛季的最终成败（尤其是季后赛的表现）在很大程度上取决于沃森能否胜任这个角色，因为阵容中没有其他人能做到。
稍后我会详细聊聊沃森，但先让我把一年前写过的这个概念重新介绍完毕。
上赛季，我名单中的一位关键球员是里德·谢泼德，他未能彻底解决休斯顿火箭队的后卫问题，是球队首轮季后赛令人失望出局的重要原因之一。但回顾我的名单，我发现自己大多把目光放得太低了。聚焦于可能的第九人类型球员（向瑞安·罗林斯致敬！）错过了太多大局，所以这次我要调整关注点。
我本赛季的十大枢纽球员名单中，所有人预计都将成为季后赛级别球队的首发。无论如何，这些人都将产生重要影响。他们在各自角色中的表现，对球队至关重要，同时也至少存在一定的疑问。
佩顿·沃森，骑士队
沃森通过一份四年8800万美元的先签后换合同加盟，这份合同主要基于他在丹佛那半个赛季的表现——那段时间他的进步远超以往任何时期。由于腿筋伤病最终终结了他的赛季，我们没能看到他能否将这种状态延续下去。但在上赛季的40场首发中，沃森场均得到17.3分，三分命中率达到41.1%——对于一个以不会投篮的糙哥身份进入联盟的球员来说，这样的表现相当惊艳。
与此同时，身高6英尺8英寸的沃森有机会成为米切尔-莫布利时代骑士队一直缺失的锋线防守大闸，一个有望对位杰伦·布伦森和泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿这类球员的人——正是这些球员在过去两个季后赛中折磨着骑士队。再加上他年仅24岁，沃森有机会成为廉价版的OG·阿努诺比。
但话说回来，那半个赛季的表现承载了太多期待。沃森职业生涯罚球命中率仅为69.7%，在来到克利夫兰之前也从未有过三分球方面的成功记录，而且本赛季不会再有尼古拉·约基奇给他喂轻松的出手机会了。防守端，他具备成为精英防守者的天赋条件，但上赛季的高阶数据仍然显示他距离这个水准还有很长的路要走。
克利夫兰基本上清空了资产储备（更别提钱包了），寄希望于沃森能成为那块缺失的拼图。你能理解骑士队为什么这么做，但这终究是一次信仰之跃。
托拜厄斯·哈里斯，马刺队
圣安东尼奥马刺队上赛季季后赛征程中最大的问题之一，就是找不到一位值得信赖的大前锋。米奇·约翰逊在整个季后赛中轮番使用哈里森·巴恩斯、凯尔登·约翰逊和卡特·布莱恩特，但身高6英尺6英寸的朱利安·尚帕尼始终保住首发位置这一事实表明，其他选项都不完全令人满意。在NBA总决赛中，面对纽约尼克斯队的阿努诺比，缺少这个身高定位的首发球员让他们吃了大亏。
于是哈里斯来了——马刺队正需要这样一名球员来对位尼克斯队更高大的锋线，和/或惩罚纽约小个后卫的换防。这位6英尺8英寸的前锋以全额非税中产特例（1500万美元）签约圣安东尼奥，填补了阵容的这一空缺。人们希望，34岁的他油箱里还剩足够的油，能在季后赛中成为正向贡献者。
在他上赛季季后赛期间担任底特律活塞队的第二进攻选择之后，这种说法似乎更有说服力了。他在圣安东尼奥的战术地位会更低，但作为一名空间型球员（生涯三分命中率36.6%），他依然能赢得对手的尊重，并且可以在对阵对方第二阵容时自主创造进攻机会。
乔纳森·库明加，森林狼队
库明加在金州勇士队始终格格不入，随后在亚特兰大老鹰队的16场比赛中也未能站稳脚跟。如今，明尼苏达森林狼队希望他能成为球队的首发大前锋——这和前面提到的沃森一样是一次信仰之跃，只不过支持森林狼做出这一决定的过往履历要少得多。
在最佳状态下，库明加是一名埋头苦干的得分手，能够一对一单打，或冲击篮筐，或制造犯规。因此，他的打法或许更适合森林狼将使用的极其有限的第二阵容，但他很可能还是会被安排与首发一同出场。与上文提到的哈里斯类似，他是明尼苏达唯一具备大前锋身材条件的关键球员。低调地说，以他的身材而言，他还是个不错的篮板手。
可惜的是，库明加的弱点——不稳定的跳投、运球时视野盲区的倾向以及平庸的防守——已经让他的前两任东家感到疲惫。如今首发位置虚位以待，还有一名控卫（拉梅洛·鲍尔）应该能为他送出轻松得分的机会，这位24岁的球员会在这一年实现蜕变吗？还是说，他出任如此关键的角色，仅仅象征着明尼苏达填补空虚前场的绝望程度？
乔纳森·库明加上赛季在金州和亚特兰大之间辗转。(Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
基翁特·乔治，爵士队
乔治最近的续约耐人寻味，因为尽管他在一年前打出了爆发式的得分表现，“这家伙到底有多好？”这个挥之不去的疑问依然存在。部分原因在于，乔治上赛季的防守远远达不到他进攻的水准。虽然他拥有控卫位置上不错的身材，但他手部防守并不突出（生涯每百回合仅1.1次抢断），横向移动速度也不快，大多数高阶数据都认为他在防守端远低于平均水平。（一项知名指标将他评为NBA第三差的防守球员。）
但问题的另一面是，那些得分究竟是在摆烂球队上获得无限开火权的产物，还是能够转化到一支真正想赢球的球队。这并不全是靠出手堆出来的：乔治在职业生涯第三个赛季打出了迄今最佳的投篮数据，三分命中率37.1%，两分命中率51.5%。而且，当他罚球命中率达到89.2%时，你很难说这样的投篮表现是昙花一现。他的远投能力或许仍有上升空间。
另一个有趣的方面是乔治作为组织者的能力。虽然犹他那种以移动为主的进攻体系天然有利于打出不错的助攻率，但肉眼观察表明，他更多时候扮演的是得分手角色，较少成为用高级阅读能力撕裂防守的那个人。这一点尤其明显，因为他过于依赖跳投，很少冲击禁区——上赛季他只有10.1%的出手在篮下完成。
犹他在乔治的续约问题上似乎采取了中庸的对冲策略，五年1.57亿美元——这差不多是给一名可靠首发、队内第四号球员的价钱。对爵士队而言，理想的前景是乔治能否以上赛季为跳板，成为比这更出色的球员。
安东尼·布莱克，魔术队
从纸面上看，布莱克位列联盟最佳第六人之列，随着2027年受限制自由球员市场临近，他也是一份丰厚续约合同的有力候选人。他是上赛季联盟进攻端进步最快的球员之一，在首发和替补角色之间切换，场均得到15分。
然而，布莱克的困境在于，在一支本就缺乏投篮能力的球队中，他与两名顶薪非射手弗朗茨·瓦格纳和保罗·班切罗的兼容性是一个巨大的霓虹灯问号。布莱克上赛季三分命中率仅为33.3%，而且其中很大一部分是防守方乐于放掉的空位“挑衅式”出手。好消息是，他的三分出手频率比第二个赛季几乎翻倍，出手意愿也大大增强。坏消息是，防守方仍然在这次博弈中占得上风。他生涯72.4%的罚球命中率，也难以让人对这一局面改变抱有太大信心。
然而……布莱克能够防守多个位置，能在转换中持球，能组织进攻，也能完成篮下终结。他上赛季篮下区域命中率达到72.9%——对一名后卫来说这是相当高的数字。奥兰多是一支天赋出众的球队，如果防守方不得不在三分线外盯防布莱克，魔术队就能再上一个台阶。不过，如果投篮没有实现飞跃，尽管他有诸多其他优点，魔术队也很难让他与首发长时间同场。
科林·默里-博伊尔斯，猛龙队
他能打中锋吗？我是说，他真的能打中锋吗——面对首发球员，在真正重要的比赛中？
默里-博伊尔斯是本赛季开始前联盟最有趣的球员之一。如果上述问题的答案是肯定的，多伦多猛龙队就能在关键时刻排出极具威慑力的防守阵容。如果答案是否定的，那笔不必要的雅各布·珀尔特尔续约很可能会笼罩他们的整个赛季。压力不小。
默里-博伊尔斯的关键问题在于，他身高只有6英尺7英寸，而且2025-26赛季新秀年只投进了17记三分。在进攻端，这意味着他可能太小了，难以胜任更多角色，只能做一个特定情境下的空切终结者，但他的左手定点投篮能否形成足够威胁，让猛龙队可以围绕他与其他球员打二人配合？
在防守端，面对他可能在东部季后赛中遭遇的卡尔-安东尼·唐斯和乔尔·恩比德们，身材上的劣势是否会成为致命问题？又或者，他轻盈的脚步和敏捷的双手足以弥补这一点，让他与伦纳德和斯科蒂·巴恩斯搭档时能够完成任务？
一个关键数据：默里-博伊尔斯新秀赛季的篮板率仅为13%，其中防守篮板率更是低至14%。大多数首发中锋在第一项数据上处于接近20%的水平，第二项则在20%以上。（例如，珀尔特尔这两项数据分别为16%和20.8%。）提升篮板产出，将大大有助于回答中锋之问。
卡森·华莱士，雷霆队
俄克拉荷马城雷霆队这次可没有对冲风险。面对工资帽压力，雷霆队在休赛期送走了轮换侧翼卢·多特、以赛亚·乔和阿隆·威金斯，明确表示他们相信华莱士能够在阵容豪华的球队中，作为首发侧翼同时扛起"3-and-D"（三分与防守）中的"3"和"D"。
进攻端，华莱士是球队的第五选择，上赛季使用率仅为14.5%，尤其是在与替补阵容同场时，他可能需要提升自己的持球创造能力。与首发搭档时，他也必须敢于出手。雷霆队需要有人提供三分产量，而华莱士将2025-26赛季每百回合6.8次三分出手提升到两位数，是实现这一目标的最佳途径——尤其是乔（13.7）、多特（9.7）和威金斯（9.2）这三名球队出手量最大的投手都在上赛季离开了。
防守端，华莱士还将承担起多特过去负责的一些更高大侧翼的对位任务。对于一名身高6英尺3英寸、体重195磅的球员来说，这可能是个挑战，尽管上赛季入选最佳防守阵容第二阵容的是他，而不是多特。
当然，华莱士在另一个层面上也是枢纽球员：他的潜在续约是规划雷霆队财务未来的关键一环——奢侈税触发线和重复缴税惩罚的威胁，正试图瓦解这支纸面阵容仍是联盟最强的球队。
随着卢·多特等人的离开，雷霆队更加倚重卡森·华莱士。(Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
约翰·科林斯，活塞队
科林斯在改换门庭后重返这份名单。他将被要求顶替哈里斯（上文已讨论）——后者曾是活塞队季后赛的中流砥柱——但也有人认为，科林斯与这支底特律活塞队的契合度可能更高。
先从一个自他亚特兰大时期以来发生巨大变化、却被低估的方面说起：科林斯现在能投三分了。这位6英尺9英寸的前锋在过去两个赛季的三分命中率分别达到39.9%和40.6%。虽然出手量不算大，他短期内也不会频繁借掩护绕出接球投篮，但把他放空在底角是一个致命的错误。
科林斯的合同也很灵活，2027-28赛季为非保障合同。但那是下赛季的事了。本赛季呢？这必须奏效，因为活塞队在大前锋位置上没有其他能承担大量出场时间的可行选项。替补选项只有身高6英尺5英寸的贾冯特·格林和状态已大不如前的托里安·普林斯。
底特律上赛季打出东部最佳战绩，如今手握更多外线火力，正瞄准本赛季走得更远的季后赛征程。科林斯将是最重要的决定因素之一。
科比·怀特，黄蜂队
我们知道怀特能得分。我们不知道的是，他能否胜任控球后卫，并且以一种让场上其他队友也能得分的方式打球。随着鲍尔离开夏洛特，新秀克里斯蒂安·安德森在夏季联赛中的表现距离做出贡献还差着十万八千里，指挥黄蜂队进攻的重任将落在怀特（以及在某些时段的丹尼斯·施罗德）肩上。
夏洛特的进攻在上赛季下半段极具杀伤力，以速度、投篮（以及穆萨·迪亚巴特对拼抢篮板永不满足的渴望）压制对手，进攻效率排名联盟第五。然而，鲍尔的组织能力是其中的关键，当他不在场上时，球队的进攻便一落千丈。
于是怀特来了。他在赛季末通过交易从芝加哥公牛队加盟后，以惊人的效率得分（每百回合40.1分！），但其职业生涯每百回合助攻数从未超过7.6次。这个数字对一名侧翼来说还算不错，但对一名核心控卫来说就太寒酸了。他能否把握好出手时机，确保科恩·克尼普尔、布兰登·米勒和格雷森·艾伦这些神射手依然获得出手机会？又或者，球队的进攻会退化成过多的“你一下我一下”，无法延续上赛季的出色输出？即便没有鲍尔，黄蜂队的天赋也足以重返附加赛，但前提是怀特必须成为一名可信的组织者。
戴森·丹尼尔斯，老鹰队
丹尼尔斯这个夏天学会投篮了吗？或者至少，恢复到他上赛季之前那个还凑合的射手水准？丹尼尔斯从来都不是斯蒂芬·库里，但在亚特兰大的第一个赛季投出还算体面的34%三分命中率后，他上赛季暴跌至惨不忍睹的18.8%。这使他成为NBA历史上第一位单赛季出手至少115记三分、命中率却不足20%的球员。
信心显然是一个因素。我在2026年季后赛前写过一篇文章，指出他陷入了一种模式：只要当晚投丢第一记三分，就再也不出手了。虽然他在赛季末段有所回升（曾一度勉强高于10%），但他仍然是那种在三分线外被对方防守完全无视的球员。
老鹰队对此做出了一个巧妙的调整：让丹尼尔斯担任掩护者，在弧顶为大个子奥涅卡·奥孔古创造机会。奥孔古在三分线外的快速进步也帮了忙，但这一战术仍有局限性。他们实际上是在要求一名后卫去扮演空切型中锋的角色。
随着对阵尼克斯的季后赛深入，这一点变得愈发明显，包含丹尼尔斯的阵容在进攻端越来越难以为继。如今丹尼尔斯正处于四年1亿美元续约合同的第一年，他必须提供某种空间价值，才能在季后赛系列赛中留在场上。他至少能做到三投一中吗？
由生成式 AI 翻译，翻译内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：These under-the-radar players could swing the NBA season. You just don't know it yet
These under-the-radar players could swing the NBA season. You just don’t know it yet
Basketball is a star-driven game, and those will always be the players who matter the most. Stars such as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown changing teams are undoubtedly the biggest story of this NBA offseason, and we’ll be tracking their impact closely.
A level below that, we have what I call “hinge” players. These guys might not be stars, but they play crucial roles for their teams — and we don’t know yet if they’ll sink or swim.
The most obvious example of that is Peyton Watson in Cleveland. The Cavaliers basically used all their trade chips to bring him in from the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade, surrendering two other rotation players and their only remaining tradable first-round pick to fill a role that has vexed Cleveland the last three postseasons.
On paper, Watson is likely the Cavs’ fifth-best player, with the other four — James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — all having made at least one All-Star team. Yet, their ultimate success this season (and especially this postseason) hinges heavily on Watson’s ability to fill this role, because nobody else on the roster can.
I’ll talk more about Watson in a minute, but let’s finish reintroducing the concept that I wrote about a year ago.
Last season, one of my key players was Reed Sheppard, whose inability to fully solve the Houston Rockets’ guard problem was a key reason behind the team’s disappointing first-round playoff exit. But looking back at my list, I realize I mostly aimed way too low on the food chain. Focusing on possible ninth-man types (shout out, Ryan Rollins!) missed too much of the big picture, so I’m changing my focus.
My list of top-10 hinge players for this season includes players who all project as starters for playoff-caliber teams. One way or another, these guys will matter. How they perform in their roles is both critical for the team and at least somewhat of a question mark.
Peyton Watson, Cavaliers
Watson was signed-and-traded via a four-year, $88 million deal based largely on a half-season in Denver in which he was massively better than he had been at any time before. We never saw if he could sustain it further because of a hamstring injury that ultimately ended his season. But in 40 starts last season, Watson averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 41.1 percent from 3 — impressive stuff from someone who entered the league as a raw non-shooter.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-8 Watson has a chance to be the big wing defensive stopper the Cavs have mostly lacked during the Mitchell-Mobley era, somebody who can potentially check the Jalen Brunsons and Tyrese Haliburtons of the world who tormented them in the last two playoffs. Add in that he’s only 24 years old, and there’s a chance Watson can be the discount version of OG Anunoby.
But again, that half-season is doing a lot of work. Watson is a 69.7 percent career foul shooter who had no track record of 3-point success before he got to Cleveland, and he won’t have Nikola Jokić spoon-feeding him easy looks this season. Defensively, he has the tools to be elite, but the impact stats from last season still rated him a long way away.
Cleveland basically emptied its asset cache (not to mention its wallet) in the hope that Watson can be the missing piece. You can see why the Cavs did it, but it’s a leap of faith.
Tobias Harris, Spurs
One of the biggest issues for the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s postseason run was the inability to find a power forward they trusted. Mitch Johnson toggled through Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson and Carter Bryant throughout the playoffs, but the fact that 6-foot-6 Julian Champagnie remained the starter the whole time was a tell that none of the other options were completely satisfactory. The lack of a starting player in that size profile hurt them against the New York Knicks’ Anunoby in the NBA Finals.
Enter Harris, a player the Spurs really could have used to match up against the Knicks’ bigger forwards and/or to punish switches against smaller New York guards. The 6-8 forward signed in San Antonio for the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception ($15 million) to fill that roster void. The hope is that, at 34, he has enough left in the tank to be a playoff positive.
That statement seems more credible after he was the Detroit Pistons’ second option during their playoff run last season. He’ll be lower on the food chain in San Antonio, but he commands respect as a floor spacer (36.6 percent career from 3) and can generate his own offense against second units.
Jonathan Kuminga, Timberwolves
Kuminga was a square peg in a round hole with the Golden State Warriors and never gained traction in 16 games with the Atlanta Hawks. Now the Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping he can be their starting power forward, a leap of faith similar to the aforementioned Watson — except with a dramatically smaller track record in the Wolves’ favor.
At his best, Kuminga is a head-down bucket-getter who can isolate one-on-one and either get to the rim or draw fouls. As such, his style might work better with the extremely limited second units the Wolves will utilize, but he’ll likely lead off with the starters. Similar to Harris above, he’s the only key Minnesota player with the size profile to play power forward. Low-key, he’s also a good rebounder for his size.
Alas, Kuminga’s weaknesses — an iffy jump shot, a proclivity for dribble blindness and underwhelming defense — have worn on his last two employers. With a starting job waiting and a point guard (LaMelo Ball) who should deliver some easy chances, is this the year the 24-year-old turns the corner? Or, is his arrival in such a key role merely symbolic of how desperate Minnesota became to fill in a hollowed-out frontcourt?
Jonathan Kuminga split time between Golden State and Atlanta last season. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Keyonte George, Jazz
George’s recent extension is fascinating because, despite his breakout scoring a year ago, the lingering question of “How good is this guy, really?” remains. That’s in part because George’s defense last season was not nearly on the same level as his offense. While he has good size for the point guard position, he isn’t particularly handsy (just 1.1 steals per 100 possessions for his career) or fleet of foot laterally, and most advanced stats rate him as well below average on that end. (One prominent metric rates him the third-worst defensive player in the NBA.)
But the other part of the story is whether the scoring was the result of free rein on a tanking team or something that translates to a team that is actually trying. It wasn’t all volume-driven: George had the best shooting numbers of his career, by far, in his third pro season, connecting on 37.1 percent from 3 and 51.5 percent on 2s. Also, you’d hardly call shooting like that a fluke when he made 89.2 percent from the line. There still may be money on the table here for his long-range shooting.
The other interesting part is George’s ability as a distributor. While Utah’s motion-heavy offense is hard-wired for solid assist rates, the eye test says he plays a lot more as a scorer and is less often the guy breaking down defenses with an advanced read. That’s especially true because he’s so jump-shot reliant and doesn’t touch the paint much, taking only 10.1 percent of his shots at the rim last season.
Utah seemingly hedged its bets right down the middle on George’s extension, paying him $157 million over five years — what you’d pay a solid starter to be your fourth-best player. The upside scenario for the Jazz is whether George can use last season as a platform to be something more than that.
Anthony Black, Magic
On paper, Black rates among the best sixth men in the league and is a candidate for a rich extension as he heads into restricted free agency in 2027. He was one of the most improved offensive players in the league last season, averaging 15 points per game while toggling between starting and bench roles.
However, the conundrum with Black is that, on a team already bereft of shooting, his fit next to max-contract non-shooters Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero is the giant neon question mark. Black only made 33.3 percent of his 3s last season, despite a big chunk of them being wide-open dare shots that defenses readily conceded. The good news is that he nearly doubled his 3-point frequency from his second season and has become much more willing to let them fly. The bad news is that defenses are still winning the gamble. His 72.4 percent career mark from the line doesn’t offer a ton of confidence that this will change.
And yet … Black can defend multiple positions, handle in transition, run the offense and finish at the cup. He shot 72.9 percent in the basket area last season — high marks for a guard. Orlando is a talented team, and Black takes the Magic up another level if defenses have to guard him at the 3-point line. Still, it’s hard to keep him on the court with Orlando’s starters if the shooting jump doesn’t happen, despite all his other positives.
Collin Murray-Boyles, Raptors
Can he play center? As in, can he really play center, against starters, in games that matter?
Murray-Boyles is one of the league’s most interesting players heading into the season. If the answer to the above question is yes, the Toronto Raptors can play some hellacious defensive lineups in crunch time. If it’s a no, the needless Jakob Poeltl extension will likely loom over their season. No pressure.
The key issue for Murray-Boyles is that he’s 6-7 and only made 17 3-pointers in 2025-26 as a rookie. Offensively, that means he’s probably too small to be more than a situational rim runner, but can his lefty set shot be enough of a threat to allow the Raptors to run two-man actions with other players?
On defense, is his lack of size too problematic against the Karl-Anthony Townses and Joel Embiids that he might have to face in the Eastern Conference playoffs? Or, do his light feet and fast hands offset that enough to where, when paired next to Leonard and Scottie Barnes, he can get the job done?
One key metric: Murray-Boyles’ rebound rate as a rookie was only 13 percent, including a paltry 14 percent on the defensive glass. Most starting centers are in the high teens on the first metric and in the 20s on the second. (Poeltl, for instance, came in at 16 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively.) Upping his production on the glass would go a long way toward answering the center question.
Cason Wallace, Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t exactly hedge their bets here. Faced with a salary-cap crunch, the Thunder jettisoned rotation wings Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins in the offseason, making it clear they think Wallace can be counted for both the “3” and the “D” parts of the 3-and-D job as a starting wing on a loaded roster.
Offensively, Wallace is a fifth option who had just a 14.5 percent usage rate last season, and he’ll likely need to step up his shot creation when he plays with bench units in particular. He has to let it rip with the starters, too. The Thunder need 3-point volume from somewhere, and Wallace upping his 6.8 3-point attempts per 100 in 2025-26 to something in the double digits is the best way to get it — especially with Joe (13.7), Dort (9.7) and Wiggins (9.2) being three of the team’s highest-volume launchers a season ago.
Defensively, Wallace will also be tasked with guarding some of the bigger wings Dort used to handle. That could be a challenge for the 6-3, 195-pounder, even though he, not Dort, was the one who made All-Defensive Second Team last season.
Wallace, of course, is a hinge player in another respect, as well: His potential extension is the key piece in mapping out the Thunder’s financial future, where tax aprons and repeater penalties threaten to dismantle what remains the league’s strongest on-paper roster.
With Lu Dort and others gone, the Thunder are counting on Cason Wallace even more. (Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
John Collins, Pistons
Collins returns to this list after changing teams. He’ll be asked to replace Harris (discussed above), who was a playoff mainstay, but there’s an argument that Collins can fit in better with these Detroit Pistons.
Let’s start with an underappreciated item that has changed a lot since his Atlanta days: Collins can shoot now. The 6-9 forward made 39.9 percent and 40.6 percent from 3 over his past two seasons. While the volume isn’t huge and he’s not going to come flying off pindowns any time soon, leaving him open in the corner is a deadly mistake.
Collins also has a flexible contract that’s non-guaranteed for 2027-28. But that’s next season. What about this season? This has to work, because the Pistons don’t have another viable option for big minutes at power forward. The backup options are 6-5 Javonte Green and the washed version of Taurean Prince.
Detroit had the best record in the East last season and, with more perimeter shooting on hand, is eyeing a deeper postseason run this time around. Collins will be among the most important determinants.
Coby White, Hornets
We know White can score. What we don’t know is whether he can play point guard and do it in a way that allows other people on the court with him to score, too. With Ball gone from Charlotte and rookie Christian Anderson looking light years away from contributing during summer league, it will fall on White (and, at times, Dennis Schröder) to captain the Hornets’ offense.
Charlotte’s attack was devastating in the second half of last season, overwhelming opponents with speed, shooting (as well as Moussa Diabaté’s insatiable thirst for tracking down misses) and finishing fifth in offensive efficiency. Ball’s distribution skill, however, was a big key to that, and the offense cratered when he was off the floor.
Enter White, who scored at a phenomenal rate after his late-season arrival via trade from the Chicago Bulls (40.1 points per 100!) but has never averaged more than 7.6 assists per 100 for his career. That’s a solid number for a wing but chump change for a lead guard. Can he pick his spots well enough to make sure knockdown shooters like Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller and Grayson Allen still get their looks? Or, will the offense degenerate into too much of a your-turn, my-turn affair to maintain last season’s stellar output? The Hornets have enough talent to return to the Play-In Tournament even without Ball, but only if White can be a credible distributor.
Dyson Daniels, Hawks
Did Daniels learn to shoot this summer? Or at least regress to the meh shooter he used to be before last season? Daniels has never exactly been Steph Curry, but after shooting a quasi-respectable 34 percent from 3 in his first season in Atlanta, he slumped to an execrable 18.8 percent last season. That made him the first player in NBA history to take at least 115 3s in a season and make fewer than 20 percent of them.
Confidence is clearly a factor. I wrote a missive before the 2026 playoffs about how he fell into a pattern of not ever shooting another 3 if he missed his first one of the night, and while he recovered a bit late in the season (at one point, he was barely above 10 percent), he is still a player whom opposing defenses totally ignore at the 3-point line.
The Hawks made a brilliant adjustment to this by using Daniels as a screener and setting up big man Onyeka Okongwu on the perimeter. Okongwu’s rapid evolution from beyond the arc helped matters, but that tactic still has limitations. They were basically asking a guard to become a rim-running center.
That became more obvious as the playoffs against the Knicks wore on, with lineups including Daniels becoming increasingly untenable offensively. With Daniels in the first year of a four-year, $100 million extension, he has to offer some kind of spacing component to stay on the court in a playoff series. Can he, at least, be a one-in-three proposition?
By John Hollinger / The Athletic
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