With the 2023-24 NBA season approaching, it’s always interesting to look forward to examine which players will be intriguing watches in the coming season. Because of that, Digits has decided to look at that exact thing this week.

Last week’s column featured players from the Eastern Conference. This week features one player per team from the Western Conference. Without further adieu, here are some of the most intriguing watches of the coming NBA season in the West.

Los Angeles Clippers: Russell Westbrook

Westbrook signed with the Clippers after being bought out by the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline, and it went much better than the Lakers portion of the season. He was more efficient, a better defender, and simply more impactful. Now, entering this season at age 34 (and soon-to-be 35), can he maintain his level of play that he had in the second half of the season? The Clippers are still looking to win, so to what extent can Westbrook contribute to that?

San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama

Wemby isn’t just the player to watch on the Spurs; he’s the player to watch in the NBA, period. The Frenchmen is the most hyped prospect since LeBron -- or perhaps ever -- for a reason. What impact can he have on the game as a rookie? Mainly, I’m looking to see how good he is defensively on day one. It feels like he can be incredibly impactful as a rookie on that end due to his size.

Golden State Warriors: Chris Paul

The Warriors’ biggest addition this summer was Chris Paul, and when he was traded to the Bay Area, there were many questions of how CP3 would fit in the Warriors offensive system. Hence, he is the player to watch for the Warriors. This team is still looking to win, so can CP3 impact winning in a positive manner here? Will his lack of movement offensively hinder his and Golden State’s success? All we can do is wait and see.

Houston Rockets: Jalen Green

There are many players on the Rockets that are exciting to watch this coming season because of how many young talented players there are. However, I have elected to select Jalen Green. Entering his third season in the league, can he take a leap to become more efficient? Can he improve as a playmaker? What about defensive improvement? How good can Houston be with Green?

Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren

Just like the Rockets, there are many players that are exciting to watch with this Thunder team. I have decided to go with Holmgren. The Thunder are going to look to improve this season, and Holmgren is a large part of that hope. He should have a huge defensive impact immediately, and he isn’t a slouch on the defensive end either. The Thunder will certainly be a fun team this coming season.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards is entering year four, and if the offseason says anything, people are expecting Edwards to have an MVP-caliber season in the 2023-24 campaign. Out of all young players in the league right now, it feels like Edwards has the most hype, and that’s partially due to his current success with Team USA. Can he become a legit MVP candidate? How good are the Timberwolves going to be?

Los Angeles Lakers: Austin Reaves

Just like Edwards, the current hype with Austin Reaves is absolutely here. The two have been arguably the two best players on Team USA throughout the FIBA World Cup. With Reaves showing out and an aging LeBron James, it feels as if more on-ball reps for Reaves are inevitable. How will he do with increased reps, and how good will he be? What will his efficiency and volume numbers look like?

Denver Nuggets: Jamal Murray

It’s finally time that we see a fully healthy Jamal Murray in the regular season. We know that Murray is a playoff riser, and that’s what made him so good in the postseason, but how good can he be for a full regular season when healthy? The guards in the West are loaded, so can Jamal Murray be an all-star? The Nuggets were the top seed in the conference with 53 wins with Murray not being in complete form, so how many wins can they get this coming year?

Dallas Mavericks: Kyrie Irving

Irving’s time with Dallas was less than ideal. They dropped out of the play-in tournament, but now, Irving has an entire offseason with the team. On paper, the duo of Luka Doncic and Irving should be absolutely deadly, so can they make it so that the Mavericks offense is borderline unstoppable? Ultimately, that should be the goal. Can they get that done, and how good will Irving be?

Memphis Grizzlies: Desmond Bane

With Ja Morant’s suspension for at least the first 25 games of the season, Desmond Bane will be stepping into the #1 role for that time. There’s been stints when he’s been this over the past year, but now they lost the ever so stable Tyus Jones. With Bane improving for another season, it will be exciting to see the Grizzlies and Bane without Morant. How good can Bane and the team be?

Portland Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe

The obvious player to watch on Portland is Scoot Henderson, but I feel good saying he will be a good player year one. Perhaps the more intriguing player is Shaedon Sharpe and how good he can be. He ended the season on fire for Portland, so it will be very interesting to see just how good he will be in his second season as a pro.

Sacramento Kings: Keegan Murray

The Kings just had their best season in nearly two decades, and perhaps the most underrated component of that was Keegan Murray. He was a knockdown shooter, and he still has room to improve as an on-ball option and defender. In the Summer League, he looked incredibly dominant and a more complete player, and his development could be huge for the Kings. How good can he be in year two?

Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal

The first major offseason trade was Bradley Beal joining Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in the desert. Beal will be the third option in Phoenix, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to that. He will have to play off of the ball more than he has in recent years, and he certainly can do that. It should be fun to watch the Suns because Book, Durant, and Beal are one hell of a trio.

New Orleans Pelicans: Dyson Daniels

There are lots of fun young players on the Pelicans, but an unpopular opinion of mine here is that I’m excited to see Daniels’ development. He was already a high-level perimeter defender in his first season, and his playmaking gives me some excitement on the offense end. If he can improve other facets of his offensive game, Daniels could become a rather impactful player for the Pelicans in a hopefully more healthy season.

Utah Jazz: Kris Dunn

Dunn signed with Utah once they began tanking, but he was awesome toward the season’s conclusion. He undoubtedly should get a solid amount of playing time for Utah this year because of his play with them. He’s a very good two-way player, and it will be exciting to see if he can continue his play from the end of the season. I did a Twitter thread on his career renaissance, which can be seen here:

Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst

- Digits Hoop Twitter