Kauhei Lindard (Toronto Raptors)
The 2014 FIFA World Player of the Year and the league's best defender for 2015 and 2016 had to be absent from all but nine of the last season's games because of a right-arm injury and his relationship with the San Antonio Spurs, which he crowned with the 2014 title, This is what finally happened with his move to the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors, who had the best record in the Eastern Region during the regular season with 57 wins but were eliminated from the second round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-4), are betting on Leonard's fitness as well as their ability to cling to him when he becomes a free player at the end of the season.
Luca Duncic (Dallas Mavericks)
Slovenia's top defender (202 cm) crowned the best player in the final leg of the Euroleague, where he led Real Madrid to the title in June. Dallas made a big effort on the annual DRIFT day to assign college, high school and foreign players to the league by convincing Atlanta Hawks to give up after using his third choice in the first round. The Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki says the 19-year-old will prove to be worth betting on, describing his skills in dealing with the ball as "amazing".
The Australian player made a stunning start last season on his way to the Rocky Rookie, scoring 15.8 points with 8.2 assists and 8.1 assists per game.
Simmons played an active role in the arrival of the Philadelphia Sixers to the second round of Playoff Eastern Province, and his team and opponents will watch the 22-year-old to see how much he has improved this summer to be more consistent in his shots.
Simmons admits that he will not be the point of the three-point rebounds, which is not a concern for his coach, Bret Brown, who wants to see the Australian more effective under the basket and improve his success rate on the free throw line (only 56 per cent last season).
