Biggest question facing every Northwest Division team: Who will step up around Nikola Jokic? Pressure on OKC?

The 2024-25 NBA season is soon approaching, and in preparation for that we’ve been looking at the biggest questions facing all 30 teams around the league. Going division by division, we looked at every team, wondering if the Celtics will repeat as champions, if the Lakers will finally make a trade and if the Knicks will be in need of more depth. 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
• Biggest question for every Pacific Division team

For the final installment we’re finishing up with the Northwest division, where a trio of teams here could all be the representative from the West in the NBA Finals next June. The Nuggets lost another key piece from their championship season, will a young player be able to fill those shoes? The Thunder had an incredibly successful offseason; will they live up to the expectations? And will Minnesota be able to rely on a young rookie who the team spent a future first-round pick to get? 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.

Nuggets: Is Christian Braun ready?

Aside from a max contract extension for Jamal Murray and watching a pivotal piece from their 2023 championship team leave for Orlando, the Nuggets did nothing to substantially upgrade the roster this summer. They re-signed Deandre Jordan, who played in two playoff games last season, and added Dario Saric and Russell Westbrook. Saric and Westbrook can both bring some value off the bench, but neither figure to be difference makers that can change a playoff series. Like several teams handicapped with expensive contracts, the second tax apron clearly spooked the Nuggets enough to not want to pay Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and by not going out and finding a replacement for the 3-and-D veteran, that means the Nuggets are hoping for a leap from Braun.

Braun has been an impact player off the bench for the Nuggets, and he had impressive moments in the team’s championship run. He took a step forward in his development last season, shooting 38.4% from 3-point range on two attempts per game while averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. But asking him to fill the shoes of Caldwell-Pope is a tall task. He’s not the same 3-point threat as KCP, and certainly not on the same level as him defensively, either. 

That’s not to say he can’t get there eventually, but the Nuggets don’t really have the luxury of waiting around for Braun to develop. Their championship window is right now, while Jokic is at the peak of his powers and they still have most of the roster from that 2023 title still intact. It’s not unreasonable to think Braun is up for the task, it’s just a lot to ask from a third-year player who will need to defend at a high level, while also making and taking 3s at a high clip.

Thunder: Can OKC live up to expectations?

Oklahoma City had, by far, the best offseason of any team in the Western Conference. The Thunder traded for Alex Caruso, perhaps the most desirable role player who was available, and added Isaiah Hartenstein to beef up the front court. The Thunder struggled to keep the Mavericks off the glass, and couldn’t contend with the strength Dallas possessed. Hartenstein should fix that. Caruso is an All-Defensive guard who can start or come off the bench, will put his body on the line for the sake of getting a defensive stop and has shot 38% from 3-point range over his career. The Thunder have no visible weaknesses right now, and should be seen as the favorites to make it out of the West, but that’s easier said than done.

With a roster this strong, there’s going to be some astronomical expectations on this team heading into the season, even if they are all still incredibly young. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should once again contend for MVP, Chet Holmgren is only going to get better, and with Hartenstein in the frontcourt he won’t have to get bullied as much in the paint. They don’t have to worry about Josh Giddey getting targeted on defense or being ignored on offense, and Jalen Williams has shown he can be the second scorer next to SGA. 

This is a team that won 57 games and finished atop the West last season. They got better in the offseason so they’re built to do it again. But none of that is going to matter if the Thunder don’t make a deep postseason run. It won’t be seen as a failure, because this team is positioned to contend for many years to come with the treasure trove of draft capital they posses, allowing them to target any star who becomes available. But dealing with high expectations is the price you pay when you build a championship-contending team.

Trail Blazers: Can Scoot Henderson get on track?

Safe to say Henderson’s rookie season did not go as planned. He missed time on two separate occasions due to injuries, and when he was playing he struggled to find consistency and efficiency. But there were also stretches of games where he showed glimpses of why he was selected third overall in the 2023 draft. All the athleticism, his explosiveness in getting to the rim and ability to score in bunches came through at times. If Henderson hadn’t been drafted so high, and if he wasn’t put in a position where he was replacing Damian Lillard, his rookie season wouldn’t be chalked up to anything other than what you’d expect from a teenage point guard adjusting to NBA action.

But, unfortunately, there’s some high expectations on Henderson’s shoulders, so of course the biggest question centers around if he’ll be able to have a more balanced sophomore season. But it’s even bigger than that. Is he Portland’s future franchise star? That won’t be answered this season, but seeing how he develops will give us a better idea of what his ceiling will be going forward.

Timberwolves: Will Dillingham get major minutes?

Minnesota made a move for its future when it traded a 2031 first-round pick and a protected 2030 first-round swap to the Spurs for standout Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham on draft night. It was seen as a home run swing by the Timberwolves, who landed one of the best players in an otherwise weak draft who can grow with a young core that already includes Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. 

The Timberwolves couldn’t make any significant upgrades to the roster due to their lack of cap flexibility, but they needed to add to their guard depth behind Mike Conley, who will be 37 when the season begins. Couple that with the fact that Monte Morris left for the Suns, and Jordan McLaughlin joined the Kings, and you have a backcourt that is in desperate need of more bodies. So the play for Dillingham is smart, but how big of a role is he going to have right away on a team that was three wins away from making the NBA Finals?

There are legitimate concerns about Dillingham’s size and defense entering the league, as he stands at just 6-foot-1 and weighed in at 164 pounds at the combine before the draft. That’s incredibly small, and he’ll need to put on some strength if he doesn’t want to get bullied on defense by bigger guards. And on a Minnesota team that had the No. 1 ranked defense a season ago, having him out there would hinder the Wolves defensively. But he’s a gifted playmaker and shot creator, both of which Minnesota needs. You don’t do a trade like this if you don’t plan on playing Dillingham immediately, but his playing time will be determined on if he’s ready right away.

Jazz: Will keeping Lauri Markkanen be worth it?

Does the Markkanen extension hurt the Jazz long term? No, not really. Does it make a ton of sense given where they stack up in the West? Probably not, but Utah clearly views Markkanen as a potential building block for their future and he was rewarded as such despite the rabid interest in him from the Warriors this summer. The date of which Markkanen signed his extension means he can’t be traded before the deadline in February, so he’ll be in Utah until at least next summer when trade interest in him will likely ramp up again.  

I don’t really get why the Jazz wouldn’t just deal him right now, especially when keeping him on the roster likely puts them out of real contention for the No. 1 draft pick and landing Cooper Flagg, who is projected to be a generational talent. They have plenty of veterans who will likely be traded before the deadline like Jordan Clarkson, John Collins and Collin Sexton. But wouldn’t you rather start the season out tanking than doing it in February when teams like the Wizards, Pistons and Bulls will have a head start on you?