The next division in my preview of the 2025 NBA season is the Central Division, home of several likely playoff teams as well as one of the clearest bottom feeders in the league.
Milwaukee Bucks
Additions: Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, Delon Wright, AJ Johnson, Tyler Smith, Stanley Umude (two-way)
Subtractions: Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jae Crowder, Danilo Gallinari, Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Other:
Outlook: This might seem too high for the Bucks. After all, they are an older team that won just 49 games last year and might face further age-related slippage from Brook Lopez, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton. However, I think Trent, Prince, and Wright are upgrades on the vets they are replacing. More importantly, after a season of chaos, the Bucks will have more stability this year – I expect Dame in particular to have a better season than last year. But really, my thinking the Bucks will crack 50 wins again is mostly just because they still have Giannis, aged 29, who remains a clear top 5 player in the NBA and the single best floor raiser after Jokic. As long as Giannis is mostly healthy, and the Bucks have a decent supporting cast around him, they will win a lot of games and be a tough out in the playoffs. The question is just if he can stay healthy after some postseason injuries the past two years.
Prediction: 52-30 (Last year predicted 52-30, actually 49-33)
Cleveland Cavaliers
Additions: Jaylon Tyson (20th pick in 2024 Draft), Luke Travers (two-way)
Subtractions: Isaac Okoro (still RFA), Tristan Thompson, Marcus Morris
Other: Extended Donovan Mitchell for 3 years $150M, Extended Evan Mobley for 5 years $224M, Extended Jarrett Allen for 3 years $91M, Hired Kenny Atkinson as head coach to replace JB Bickerstaff
Outlook: I don’t think any teams in the NBA made fewer roster changes than the Cavs. This is especially since their biggest free agent, Isaac Okoro, is likely to be retained, and is hanging in the wind due to the difficulties of restricted free agency. If they bring back Okoro, they will have lost just two fringe rotation players from last year. The Cavs still had a huge summer, extending superstar Donovan Mitchell for the rest of his prime alongside starting center Jarrett Allen and giving a rookie scale supermax to rising defensive beast Evan Mobley. There are still questions about Allen’s fit with Mobley, and Darius Garland’s with Mitchell, but the Cavs are immensely talented and Kenny Atkinson will probably be an upgrade at head coach. I don’t know if they could beat healthy Celtics, Knicks, or Sixers’ teams in the playoffs, but with a few lucky breaks they could make a deep run. And, in the regular season, while their Big 4 has fit issues together, their duplicativeness makes them more injury-proof than other teams.
Prediction: 51-31 (Last year predicted 52-30, actually 48-34)
Indiana Pacers
Additions: Johnny Furphy (35th pick in the 2024 Draft), James Wiseman, Cole Swider, Tristan Newton (two-way), Enrique Freeman (two-way)
Subtractions: Jalen Smith, Doug McDermott, Kendall Brown, Jordan Nwora, Oscar Tshiebwe, Isaiah Wong
Other: Re-Signed Pascal Siakam to 4 year $189.5M deal, Re-Signed Obi Toppin to 4 year $60M deal, Extended Andrew Nembhard for 3 years $59M, Extended TJ McConnell for 4 years $45M, Re-Signed James Johnson
Outlook: The Pacers were one of the most fun stories of last season, coming from somewhat out of nowhere to win 48 games and make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, like many teams before them that made unexpected deep playoff runs with a heavy luck component, the Pacers decided to double down on their roster, bringing nearly everyone of importance back and paying a ton of money to their own free agents and in extensions. The Pacers should still be good – they have a lot of talent and an emerging superstar in Tyrese Haliburton – but their defense remains a huge question mark. Their regular season bonafides are not in question, but I’d be very surprised if they made it back to the Conference Finals barring a huge breakout from one of their young players.
Prediction: 48-34 (Last year predicted 41-41, actually 47-35)
Chicago Bulls
Additions: Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis (11th pick in 2024 Draft), Jalen Smith, Chris Duarte, Kenneth Lofton Jr., DJ Steward (two-way)
Subtractions: DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Javonte Green, Terry Taylor
Other: Signed Patrick Williams to a 5 year $90M contract extension
Outlook: The Bulls had one of the worst offseasons of any team in the NBA, trading DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso at far below the value they could have gotten if they’d moved them last deadline or last summer and losing Andre Drummond for nothing. They barely got anything for DeRozan, and acquired Giddey for Caruso – with no picks attached. A year or two ago this would have been a fine return for Caruso, but considering the weaknesses in Giddey’s game that have been exposed over the last couple years, their faith in him as a franchise centerpiece is probably misplaced. The Bulls still have too much talent – with Zach LaVine, Nik Vucevic, and Coby White all still on the roster – to truly tank, but not enough to win. If they kept their roster all year I’d predict them winning a few more games than this, but I suspect they move even more of their veterans at some point. Things are grim in Chicago.
Prediction: 28-54 (Last year predicted 38-44, actually 39-43)
Detroit Pistons
Additions: Ron Holland (5th pick in 2024 Draft), Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, Paul Reed, Wendell Moore, Bobi Klintman (37th pick in 2024 Draft), Daniss Jenkins (two-way)
Subtractions: Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Troy Brown Jr., Malachi Flynn, Joe Harris, Buddy Boeheim, Kevin Knox, Shake Milton
Other: Hired JB Bickerstaff as new head coach replacing Monty Williams, Signed Cade Cunningham to 5 year $224M max extension, Re-Signed Simone Fontecchio
Outlook: I have been too high on the Pistons for two seasons in a row. No more. Even though I think JB Bickerstaff is a solid hire as head coach, and I liked Ron Holland in the draft, the Pistons are still a mess as a roster. Paying Tobias Harris $26M per year in 2024 is baffling, and he’s not even a good fit with the Pistons’ key young guys. Cade Cunningham has shown real flashes, and Ausar Thompson is a special defensive prospect, but the Pistons still don’t have enough shooting or creation around them. Maybe in a couple years this Pistons team could finally get out of the lottery, but they just don’t have enough established NBA talent to be competitive this year.
Prediction: 20-62 (Last year predicted 28-54, actually 14-68)
