Leonard is better than DeRozan at everything, except he never got the chance to be a primary playmaker like DeRozan because the Spurs ran an equal-opportunity system with a plethora of ball handlers. In 2016-17, 30.9 percent of Leonard's offensive possessions were pick-and-rolls.

By contrast, 52.8 percent of DeRozan's last season were pick-and-rolls, per Synergy. But over 12 games in the 2017 playoffs, Leonard's pick-and-roll usage increased to 40.6 percent of his plays. Leonard scored with tremendous efficiency, as you'd expect, and his passing was sharp.

Leonard sometimes unnecessarily picks up his dribble before passing, an old habit from his college years at San Diego State, but he's improved significantly at throwing darts off the dribble like in the video above on the pass to Danny Green, who was also traded to the Raptors.

We already know that, if healthy, Leonard will defend at an elite level and score with efficiency through a diversity of plays. The interesting variable is his playmaking. If Leonard is empowered to handle the rock and facilitate, it won't be long until he's the favorite to win MVP.

If Booker keeps progressing, the 2018-19 season could be his breakout campaign. (And if the Suns didn't stink so much last season, he could've just had it.) Last season, Booker became only the 11th player to average over 24 points before turning 22 years old.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant did it twice, and the five retired players who did it all made the Hall of Fame. It's a good sign for Booker. And now he's about to play with new teammates, with a new coach, and in a new system.

Booker was projected as a pure shooting guard in the Klay Thompson mold after his freshman season at Kentucky, but he's drastically improved his ball handling to become a more dynamic scorer.

He's crafty once he gets in the lane, utilizing floaters and off-balance layups; and if a shot isn't available, he's a willing, capable passer. Booker must get better at whipping cross-court passes and putting more velocity on the ball, but that'll come in time.

It'd be just as much of a mistake to discount Oladipo getting better moving forward. He's only 26, and he just pushed LeBron and the Cavs to the brink in his his first taste of the playoffs as his team's alpha. Oladipo is obviously already quite good, but he can still get better as long as he doesn't become complacent after his immense success last season.

He put up good box-score numbers (he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists last season). He's an excellent defender. He was also one of the NBA's most efficient isolation scorers, and excelled in the pick-and-roll, on spot-ups, and off handoffs. And he was clutch.

The next step is shooting 3s at a higher volume while maintaining or increasing efficiency.The odds are Oladipo will always be a fairly inconsistent shooter. But he needs to take more of them.

If he starts shooting 40 percent from 3 at this volume, his scoring would increase to 24.3. This is a lot of math, but it's only meant to illustrate how only a subtle tweak to his workload would lead to a noticeable bump in production.

Simmons ranked near the top of the NBA in efficiency when factoring in the points scored off his passes, so this isn't meant as a slight. The man is already a beast. But he's not close to his ceiling as a potential Face of the NBA. Simmons is too predictable, as most young players are. In the post, he often turns to a right-handed hook shot even in situations when he should go left.

When driving the lane, he uses his right hand more than 80 percent of the time on layup attempts, which results in shot alterations rather than makes or drawn fouls by using a strong left hand. If Simmons develops his left hand on the inside, it'll make scoring easier.

Simmons, with an already-chiseled 6-foot-10 physique, could be used more frequently as a screener on the roll, or pop for a shot, or catch and drive. He's a smart player without the ball, which he displays when cutting and crashing the boards.

The re-emergence of Markelle Fultz could help matters for Simmons, but Simmons's high-IQ game could still be better utilized from the perimeter if he becomes a threat from there. Once he is, Simmons has no limits.

Mitchell improved over the course of the season at scoring in the paint with one-foot finishes, and his 3-pointer has come a long way since college. He's also a far better passer than he gets credit for, which he displayed in the playoffs while point guard Ricky Rubio was sidelined. But there's always room for improvement, and the easiest way for Mitchell to see an uptick in his efficiency is by drawing more free throws.

Of the 205 players in NBA history to average at least 15 shots with a usage over 25, Mitchell ranked 163rd in free throw rate. That's fine for a rookie, and even some veterans. Curry doesn't draw a lot of fouls. But most transcendent scorers eat at the line.

There's a correlation between free throw rate and true shooting percentage, which basically means there's a moderately positive relationship between drawing fouls and scoring efficiency. Mitchell didn't draw a lot of fouls over his two seasons at Louisville either, and more often than not, players' free throw rates don't change drastically during their pro careers.