San Antonio Spurs
Projected starting lineup: Chris Paul, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama
All the attention with the San Antonio Spurs is centered around Victor Wembanyama, and rightfully so. Heading into the start of the season, there's an expectation that Wemby is going to emerge as one of the best players in the NBA. But even if Wemby does take another big jump in his development, the Spurs will need the supporting cast to step up if this is going to be considered a successful season.
The addition of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes to their starting 5 is intriguing considering this is a team that needed some veteran leadership. Jeremy Sochan is another talented young player who could blossom this season.
Toronto Raptors
Projected starting lineup: Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl
In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors have to be considered one of the most intriguing young teams to watch. In their starting 5, the argument could be made that they have three of the most underrated young players in the NBA. They are all budding stars in the league and could have another step yet to be taken in their development.
For the Raptors to make some noise in the East, they're going to need the likes of Gradey Dick and some of their other young bench players to take steps forward as well. Will that happen? That's one of the bigger questions.