It takes a big man to admit when they are wrong about something. Hand up, I was wrong about the Cleveland Cavaliers after the James Harden trade of last year. Now, in fairness to me, the Cavs drew perhaps the softest possible playoff draw that they could. But even then, a very flawed Raptors team took them the distance, and Jalen Duren couldn’t stop vomiting all over himself for long enough to help Cade Cunningham and the Pistons take advantage of their opportunity.

So alas, the Cavs made the East Finals and proceeded to be dump trucked by the Knicks. It is surely progress from the results sense, as the Cavs hadn’t made an East Finals since the LeBron days of the late 2010’s. But, it never felt like they were serious about contending for anything. This year marks a real fork in the road moment for basically everyone in the Cavaliers organization. There is real pressure to win big, or else the winds of change will begin blowing in full force.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Over/Under 48.5 wins (-105/-120)

Last season: 52-30, lost in four games to the Knicks in the East Finals

Key additions: Peyton Watson (via Denver), Meleek Thomas (NBA Draft), Mario Hezonja (Euro League)

Key losses: Max Strus (Clippers), Dean Wade (Sixers), Dennis Schroeder (Hornets)

The Cavs have their proverbial chips in the middle of the table. They have doubled and tripled down on this roster, as they extended James Harden this offseason and refused to listen on calls for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Peyton Watson comes in from Denver after his contract dispute, and they are banking on him taking the leap and fulfilling the flashes of promise that he has shown.

To be blunt about it, I think the Cavs are extremely volatile in both the positive and negative connotations. There are worlds where everything fits, this team wins mid-to-upper 50’s regular season games and is exactly what they think they can be. But at the same time, this thing could really go off the rails. I worry about the lack of shooting across the roster. All of their guys have been given so many chances in the playoffs, just to always come up short. And to top it all off, I don’t believe that Kenny Atkinson is a coach that can get any team to the mountaintop, let alone one with this many potential hurdles.

Prediction: Under 48.5 wins (-120)

Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Walker Kessler.

Heading into the summer, the top item on the Lakers’ to-do list was to find the big man of the future.

Multiple attempts at make-do options left the team wanting more by season’s end. Patchwork solutions for a position so vital with Luka Dončić on the roster would no longer suffice, so the Lakers had to make their move.

After some deliberation or bluffing — or a mix of both — Walker Kessler was the center the team pulled the trigger on, paying a premium for a big man with still lots of questions surrounding him.

It was a bet on what Kessler could become, both alongside Luka and in a bigger role. It’s a bet the Lakers can’t afford to be wrong about either. No player on the roster has more pressure on them to perform this season than Kessler. A haul of draft picks sent out and a big new contract with his signature puts him squarely in the spotlight and at the center, figuratively and literally, of the Lakers’ future.

What is his best-case scenario?

It turns out the franchise focused entirely on losing games in recent seasons wasn’t the best place for young players to thrive.

Given freedom and direction while being empowered by the franchise, Kessler blossoms. While he isn’t a high-flying lob-catcher, his crushing screens and finishing around the rim are more than enough to make him a positive offensive force.

But his biggest value will come on the defensive end where he anchors a team that has sorely needed one. In the post-Anthony Davis era, the Lakers have cycled through many bigs, none of which could protect the rim.

Kessler comes in and provides head coach JJ Redick with a solution on that end of the floor, which gives the Lakers a margin for error that hasn’t existed defensively for most of the last two seasons. Gone are the need for switch-heavy or zone defenses, as Kessler can defend the interior and, nearly equally important, help finish possessions with rebounds.

The two aspects of his game that few question are his ability defensively and his rebounding. Those are two areas the Lakers struggled last season and are welcome additions this year.

Add it all up, and Kessler’s performance not only establishes him as the team’s center of the future, it also solidifies the Lakers as a contender on the rise.

What is his worst-case scenario?

Given a bigger role with bigger expectations, Kessler isn’t able to meet the moment.

Offensively, his inability to be an above-the-rim finisher and his overall lack of athleticism mean he never quite clicks with Luka in the pick-and-roll. Akin to Deandre Ayton last season, while there are moments of success, the chemistry never really clicks between the two, which is paramount for the future of the franchise.

Defensively, it’s all a bit too much for Kessler. Tasked with leading a defense of a contending team, Kessler is unable to be the anchor the team needs. Instead of elevating players around him on that end, he still needs talent around him to make an impact.

Overall, it all feels like he’s been put in a role that’s too big. Making the jump from one of the worst teams in the league to the spotlight of playing in LA will challenge any player and Kessler is no different.

The threat of injury could factor into any player’s worst-case scenario, but it’s something that already has slowed Kessler in the past.

Obviously, his 2025-26 season was cut short after just five games due to an injury. He played 58 games in the 2024-25 season due to some late-season injuries/tanking. It’s enough of a track record that no one would be surprised if it popped up again this season, even if it would still be disappointing.

What is his most likely role on the team?

Assuming health, it feels like there’s a decent floor from Kessler this season, particularly defensively. He should be able to stabilize the Lakers on that end, letting them be more aggressive and rely less on gimmicky defense like zones or heavy switching.

Offensively, Luka can make just about any center look viable. Kessler will need to build that chemistry not just with him, but with Austin Reaves. Much of his potential impact depends on that and if it comes, he also has a relatively high floor because he can finish what will be easy buckets around the rim.

Bringing in Kessler was a gamble, but the Lakers had a long time to calculate it. They chose him over Jalen Duren this summer, so the team clearly sees something in him.

If they’re right, it catapults them into the future. If they’re wrong…let’s just hope they’re right.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

If this offseason for the Detroit Pistons was a plane ride, you’d call it an eventful one.

There has been turbulence, with the front office missing out on players they thought could fit the team’s present and future. They’ve also moved on from two players who were foundational pieces of their identity in Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart.

Above all, they still haven’t been able to land the plane on a Jalen Duren contract that satisfies both sides.

At this rate, the stalemate could last into the season.

As the vibes continue to feel off in some ways, Detroit is now less than a month away from opening the NBA season against Boston at Little Caesars Arena. And while the Pistons have not gotten everything they wanted this offseason, Trajan Langdon and the front office are still doing their part to preserve a brighter future.

As the staring contest with Duren’s camp continued, Langdon did not waste any more time locking up another foundational piece. Detroit agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension with Ausar Thompson, securing his place alongside Cade Cunningham for the foreseeable future.

I’m sure the preference would have been to have Duren’s situation resolved first. Instead, Detroit moved forward without him.

And honestly, that’s refreshing.

Detroit still has leverage

So, do the Pistons still have leverage in the negotiations?

Yes.

Duren is a restricted free agent, meaning Detroit retains the ability to match an offer sheet from another team. He can also accept a $9.6 million qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. That deadline is Oct. 1.

After averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and earning Third Team All-NBA honors at just 22 years old, Duren became eligible for a five-year maximum extension with Detroit worth a projected $287 million.

But the market has not materialized around that number.

Detroit’s reported offer yesterday is in the neighborhood of $200 million over five years, still well below Duren’s maximum eligibility. And with teams operating under increasingly restrictive cap situations, there has not been an obvious market willing to meet the number Duren is seeking.

The Pistons are essentially betting on their evaluation of Duren rather than reacting to the pressure of losing him.

Langdon won’t budge

That, more than anything, is what gives me optimism about Detroit’s future.

Former front offices might have looked at Duren’s age, production and All-NBA selection and simply given him the money to make sure the situation disappeared before training camp.

Langdon hasn’t done that.

Detroit clearly wants Duren back – but they also appear unwilling to let the desire to keep him dictate the rest of their roster construction.

That’s important when you consider where this franchise is right now. Cunningham is entering his prime if not in it. Thompson is now under contract through the 2031-32 season. The Pistons have already started reshaping the roster around their young stars, and their biggest challenge is figuring out how to maximize the years in which Cunningham is playing at an elite level.

That requires discipline.

Paying Duren whatever he wants simply because he’s already here would remove some of that flexibility.

Business is business

Does the situation sting in the short term for everyone involved?

I’m sure it does.

The Pistons would love to have Duren back in the building, especially with a roster that has undergone significant turnover this offseason. They want him to continue building chemistry with Cunningham, Thompson and the rest of the young core.

And from Duren’s vantage point, it is easy to understand why the situation feels frustrating. He just put together the best season of his career, made his first All-Star team and earned Third Team All-NBA honors at 22 years old. From his perspective, those accomplishments provide a strong case for being paid accordingly.

At the same time, Detroit has to separate what Duren accomplished last season from what it believes he will become over the next five years.

That’s where the real disagreement lies.

The price of the max

Duren is eligible for a five-year deal worth up to a projected $287 million, a number that would require Detroit to make a massive investment in his development. There is certainly a world where that becomes the right decision. He is only 22 and has improved every season. His rebounding and finishing around the rim are already major strengths, and his offensive development has given Detroit reason to believe there is more there.

But paying the full maximum also means making a significant bet on his ability to become one of the league’s premier big men over the life of that contract.

That’s a different question than whether Duren is a good player – he’s already proven that.

The question is whether he will become good enough (particularly in the playoffs) to justify occupying that much of Detroit’s future salary structure.

And that’s exactly the question Langdon should be asking.

A stalemate with a purpose

So we’ll see how this ends.

There is still plenty of time for the two sides to find common ground, and Detroit has many reasons to want Duren back. But the longer the stalemate lasts, the more realistic the qualifying-offer route becomes. Duren would then bet on himself for one season before entering unrestricted free agency next summer.

That would be an uncomfortable outcome for everyone.

But it would also be a sign that Detroit is operating differently than it did during the lean years.

The Pistons aren’t simply trying to keep everyone happy anymore, they’re trying to build a sustainable contender around Cade Cunningham, and that means making difficult decisions about where every dollar goes.

Duren may ultimately be a major part of that future, but if Langdon believes the right number is lower than Duren’s camp does, he’s showing a willingness to wait rather than blink first.

For a franchise that has spent years making short-term decisions, that might be the most encouraging development of the entire offseason.

It did not take long for LeBron James to make his imprint on the Sixers’ roster construction. The last player Philadelphia signed to a standard contract this offseason was 13-year veteran and two-time NBA champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Most known for his stops with the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, KCP made his name as a prototypical 3-and-D wing that’s become so sought after in today’s game. The last two seasons haven’t been very kind to him. As the league’s backup plan to signing Paul George in the 2024 offseason, Caldwell-Pope landed with the Orlando Magic on a three-year, $66 million deal.

After one underwhelming season there, he was used as salary to acquire Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies. Last season in Memphis was one of the worst of his career. He averaged 8.4 points per game, his lowest since his rookie season. It had been 10 years since he shot as poorly as his 41% field goal percentage and 31% from three on 3.4 attempts per game. The Grizzlies bought out the final year of his contract, allowing him to sign with the Sixers for the veteran’s minimum.

It’s fair to note that Caldwell-Pope had surgery on his right pinky, ending his season in February. The procedure was to “address the misalignment of the finger.” We’ve become painfully aware around these parts of how a pinky injury can affect a player’s jumper.

So how much should the Sixers expect from a guy who’s washed out of his last two teams, signing on to chase one last ring? If the Sixers are getting the version of Caldwell-Pope that was in Orlando and Memphis, the answer is not very much. Caldwell-Pope’s minutes will of course come at the 2 or 3 position on the wing. That could mean he’s competing with Anfernee Simons, depending on how Nick Nurse shuffles his guards, as well as Justin Edwards and potentially Dean Wade.

Edwards has been a flat out better shooter than Caldwell-Pope his last two seasons. KCP’s reputation as a defender is far greater than anything Edwards has accomplished on that end so far, but he’s been less effective on that end as well as time catches up to him.

The hope for Caldwell-Pope having a bounce back season is simple: he’s been a substantially better player when sharing the floor with LeBron James or Nikola Jokic, and he’ll be teammates again with James this season.

The best stretch of KCP’s career spanned from 2018-19, when LeBron joined the Lakers, to 2023-24, his final season with the Nuggets. In those six seasons, even with a miscellaneous year on the Wizards sandwiched in between, he averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 44% from the field and 39% from three on 4.5 attempts per game. He shot over 40% from three in three of those seasons after only shooting over 35% from three once before that.

The hack to unlocking Caldwell-Pope as a shooter is having one of the best passers of all time on your team. Luckily, the Sixers have already gone out and cleared that hurdle. Much like LeBron, Caldwell-Pope’s best years may be well behind him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be of help.

At this point in his career, he should start the season far down the depth chart. Ideally, Edwards is ahead of him to start the year. If Caldwell-Pope is more of a regular in the rotation, it won’t be a disaster by any means. The weak points for this bench are at guard and potentially at center. The wings are going to be asked to take on a lot defensively, especially when and if they’re sharing the court with James.

If Caldwell-Pope is bringing competence to that end of the floor, it could make him someone Nurse depends on in that spot. Regardless of how the depth chart shakes out, he should get plenty of opportunity. Nurse is the type of coach that prefers veteran experience, and he is definitely going to do so with this roster’s aspirations.