Part 5 of the 2025-2026 NBA preview features a handful of teams looking to leap into being a contender, while some are trying to escape NBA purgatory.
Part 5 of the NBA preview will feature the Pacific Division. The teams featured in the division are the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and the Sacramento Kings. While the first three teams are looking to compete amongst the best in the Western Conference, the last two are looking for a fresh restart.
Golden State Warriors
PG: Steph Curry | Gary Payton II | Will Richard | Pat Spencer
SG: Buddy Hield | Brandin Podziemski | Seth Curry | De’Anthony Melton
SF: Jimmy Butler | Moses Moody | Jackson Rowe | LJ Cryer
PF: Draymond Green | Jonathan Kuminga | Gui Santos | Alex Toohey
C: AL Horford | Quinten Post | Trayce Jackson-Davis
The Warriors will receive the full Jimmy Butler treatment this season, as he joined their team from the start. Butler helped the Warriors to a second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and after a rut, saw the Warriors drop to the play-in and matched up with the 2nd seed Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference. They were able to get past them in 7 games, but a Steph Curry injury in the series against the Timberwolves ended all title hopes for Golden State. Overall, much of the summer was surrounded by the restricted free agency standoff between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga and the organization eventually agreed to a 2-year $46.5 million deal with a team option in the second year. The deal likely allows Kuminga to increase his trade value and potentially be moved heading into the trade deadline. The Warriors added Al Horford as the only new player through free agency and re-signed Gary Payton II and De'Anthony Melton as well. The Warriors will look to continue the momentum gathered from last season with Butler.
Los Angeles Clippers
PG: James Harden | Chris Paul | Cam Christie | TyTy Washington
SG: Bradley Beal | Kris Dunn | Jordan Miller | Jason Preston
SF: Kawhi Leonard | Bogdan Bogdanovic | Derrick Jones Jr. | Kobe Sanders
PF: John Collins | Nicolas Batum | Kobe Brown | Jahmyl Telfort
C: Ivica Zubac | Brook Lopez | Yaxel Niederauer
The Clippers' offseason started great, and unfortunately, it has taken a possible turn for the worse. The Clippers signed Bradley Beal after he was waived and stretched by the Phoenix Suns. They also signed Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, and traded for John Collins as well. The added depth gives the Clippers a nice set of 5-man lineups they can switch in and out and gives head coach Ty Lue to ability to play a multitude of different lineups as well. While the overall shooting of Norman Powell will be missed, the overall defensive identity established from last year should carry over. The offseason was sailing smoothly at the beginning; however, early in August, it was revealed that Kawhi Leonard was receiving payments from a company the Clippers were heavily invested in, which shows a possible link between the Clippers giving Kawhi Leonard money under the table to stay with the team. The NBA is currently investigating the case, and it likely won’t make a ruling until later in the season. Still, the Clippers look to continue to build a talented and veteran team to make a run in the West.
Los Angeles Lakers
PG: Luka Doncic | Gabe Vincent | Bronny James | RJ Davis
SG: Austin Reaves | Marcus smart | Nick Smith | Augustus Marciulionis
SF: Lebron James | Dalton Knecht | Chris Manon Adou Thiero
PF: Rui Hachimura | Jake LaRavia | Maxi Kleber | Jeenathan Williams
C: DeAndre Ayton | Jaxson Hayes | Christian Koloko | Anton Watson
The Lakers have had a nice offseason, even with the ominous comments made by LeBron James that he’s monitoring the Lakers' situation and, hopefully, they will compete. Unfortunately for James and the Lakers, he’ll be sidelined for likely the first month of the season with sciatica. The comments still didn’t stop the Lakers from improving the roster and addressing the biggest concern, the center position. They decided to add DeAndre Ayton after he was waived by the Trail Blazers. The Lakers also signed Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia in free agency as well. They saw Dorian Finney-Smith leave the team in free agency. The other large transaction was getting Luka Doncic to sign an extension with the team in August, linking him with the Lakers for at least the next 4 years. Doncic looks awesome so far in the preseason with the conditioning and work he’s put in after an uncharacteristic season from him last year. The Lakers will look to build and learn from their first-round exit last year.
Phoenix Suns
PG: Devin Booker | Collin Gillespie | Jared Butler | David Duke
SG: Jalen Green | Grayson Allen | Jordan Goodwin | Koby Brea
SF: Dillon Brooks | Nigel Hayes | Rasheer Fleming | Isaiah Livers
PF: Ryan Dunn | Royce O’Neale | Oso Ighodaro | CJ Huntly
C: Mark Williams | Khaman Maluach | Nick Richards
The Suns completely changed the trajectory of their team after pulling the plug and the Beal-Durant-Booker experiment. They traded Durant to the Rockets and waived Beal to pay him $20 million plus to not play basketball for Phoenix. However, they decided to extend Booker by 2 years and $150 million. The players and draft assets returned in the Durant trade included Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and the 10th overall pick in the draft that turned into Khaman Malauch. The Suns also had a separate trade to add Mark Williams to the roster. The Suns also added Jared Butler, Jordan Goodwin, and Nigel Hayes in free agency. In addition to Malauch, the Suns also drafted Rasheer Fleming. The Suns will be without Jalen Green due to a hamstring injury for the first portion of the season, they announced the other day. Much of the Suns' season will be trying to stay competitive without a first-round pick for quite some time, and that will be the challenge for first-year head coach Jordan Ott.
Sacramento Kings
PG: Dennis Schroeder | Russell Westbrook | Isaiah Stevens | Terence Davis
SG: Zach LaVine | Keon Ellis | Devin Carter | DaQuan Jefferies
SF: Malik Monk | Nique Clifford | Doug McDermott | Daeqwon Plowden
PF: DeMar DeRozan | Dario Saric | Isaac Jones | Keegan Murray
C: Domantas Sabonis | Drew Eubanks | Maxine Raynaud | Dylan Cardwell
The Sacramento Kings fans are probably wondering where it all went wrong for the organization. Not long ago, they were the 3rd seed in the West and challenging the defending champion Warriors in a first-round matchup that went to 7 games. However, since then, the Kings have regressed and reshaped the roster a little bit. It’s slowly starting to look like the Chicago Bulls with the additions of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. The Kings added Dennis Schroeder, Russell Westbrook, and Drew Eubanks via free agency and traded for Dario Saric. They added Nique Clifford and Maxine Raynaud through the draft. Much of this season will be seeing if they can find a way to compete in the West with the aging trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis. LaVine also has a sneaky veteran extension he is eligible for this season as well. The Kings are putting their trust in the promoted head coach Doug Christie after they decided to let go of Mike Brown last season. It’ll be very interesting to see the product that comes out of Sacramento this season. In all honesty, I’m not confident in it.
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