Bernucca: 30 NBA Stars, Led by Chris Paul, On The Spot for 30 NBA Teams This Season

KOBE BRYANT, LA LAKERS: We all kind of take his greatness for granted, but he is 36 years old and coming off two serious injuries that have limited him to six games since April 2013. Including playoffs, he has 54,000 minutes of mileage on him and it is possible that he may just be nearing the end. Even at his best, Bryant will have trouble keeping the Lakers competitive. But if he is hampered by injuries again, the Lakers will be worse than bad. They will be irrelevant.

QUINCY PONDEXTER, MEMPHIS: Remember him? It may be strange that a player who averages six points per game is on the spot, but Pondexter provides 3-point shooting for a team that desperately needs it. With Pondexter missing most of last season with a stress fracture in his foot, Memphis was last in the NBA with 14.0 attempted threes per game and is much easier to defend without guys who can stretch the floor. He and Vince Carter have to offset the loss of Mike Miller.

DWYANE WADE, MIAMI: The regular season maintenance program he has been on the last two seasons was a luxury afforded by the presence of LeBron James, whose indefatigable nature will impact Wade more than any player on the Heat. Although the cupboard is not bare, Wade cannot take games and multiple possessions off with this group. He is 32, his knees look like they are 52, and the 2014 postseason exposed him as an ordinary player when not paired with James. Right now, Miami’s backup shooting guards are Shannon Brown, Reggie Williams and Tyler Johnson.

LARRY SANDERS, MILWAUKEE: This is the first season of the four-year, $44 million extension Sanders signed last summer. He needs to start acting like a professional and get things going in the right direction in Milwaukee, which needs his rebounding and rim protection to cover for the many defensive mistakes its scary young roster figures to make. The four-year veteran has yet to play an injury-free season. That would be a good place to start.

RICKY RUBIO, MINNESOTA: Kevin Love couldn’t get this bunch into the playoffs, even as a top-five player. Now the task falls to Rubio, who as point guard will be charged with providing some direction and leadership for new coach Flip Saunders alongside a suddenly young bunch. (He is one of six players on their rookie deals.) He hasn’t had much practice in that area, and there haven’t been a ton of Europeans who have been anointed alpha dogs. Of course, Rubio could blame anything that goes wrong on Anthony Bennett, who is one bad season away from being called Kwame 2.0.

ERIC GORDON, NEW ORLEANS: He has missed half of his 230 games since arriving in the Big Easy. Two summers ago, he made no secret of his desire to be elsewhere. His scoring average, assists and free-throw attempts have plummeted since joining the Pelicans. And the six-year veteran has yet to play in a postseason game. Gordon has been so disappointing, he obscures the fact that Austin Rivers is on the spot as well. It’s time for Gordon to start living up to his four-year, $58 million contract.

J.R. SMITH, NEW YORK: Since winning the 2013 Sixth Man Award, it has been a slippery slope – a poor postseason with a suspension, a clandestine offseason surgery, a marijuana suspension, on-court fines for childish behavior and a tremendous dropoff in productivity and efficiency. In other words, he behaved exactly how everyone expected him to in the first year of a three-year, $16 million contract. Now he has to answer to Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher, neither of whom suffer fools. And there are two very young and very good shooting guards on the roster. It’s time for this 10-year veteran to grow up.

KEVIN DURANT, OKLAHOMA CITY: You could argue that the guy on the spot should be Reggie Jackson, whose development now has him tasked as the Thunder’s next candidate to replace James Harden. But here’s what it boils down to for Durant: He has scoring titles, gold medals and an MVP. There’s only one thing missing from his resume. He is a free agent in 2016, and if he doesn’t bring The Larry to OKC by then, he may just up and leave.

ANDREW NICHOLSON, ORLANDO: It’s difficult to target a player on the Magic because GM Rob Hennigan has been deliberate with his rebuilding process. (They have 11 players on their rookie contracts.) Still, Nicholson needs to step up because (a) he was outplayed last season by draft classmate and fellow power forward Kyle O’Quinn, who is cheaper; (b) Hennigan signed Channing Frye, who is going to occupy some minutes at power forward; and (c) Orlando’s top draft pick was power forward Aaron Gordon, who has way more upside than Nicholson.

NERLENS NOEL, PHILADELPHIA: Maybe as a rookie he shouldn’t be under this microscope, but that’s GM Sam Hinkie’s fault. By sitting out Noel last season, all he did was foster anticipation. No one is expecting him to perform miracles. However, he was the consensus top pick before tearing his ACL and there should be no limitations on him since he has been healthy since March. He needs to play with force and abandon and not worry about making mistakes.

ERIC BLEDSOE, PHOENIX: Last season, the Suns were 28-15 with Bledsoe and 20-19 without him. They were unable to reach an agreement on a contract this offseason, when negotiations became a bit public and a bit adversarial. Bledsoe reportedly hasn’t spoken to anyone in management since April and likely will have to take a $3.7 million qualifying offer, increasing the tension between the sides, giving Bledsoe a no-trade clause and turning him into an unrestricted free agent next summer. So does Bledsoe play for the Suns this season? Or does he play for himself?

THOMAS ROBINSON, PORTLAND: If it seems like he’s been around longer than two years, it’s because he has been traded twice. But he doesn’t look like he will evolve into a star, or even a starter. This is an ideal place and time for Robinson to forget about minutes, touches and points and define a role for himself as an energy big off the bench in the mold of Nick Collison or even perhaps Reggie Evans, because that’s what Portland’s bench needs him to be. Teammate Meyers Leonard is in a similar situation.

BEN MCLEMORE, SACRAMENTO: He had an erratic rookie season but was a little better after Marcus Thornton was traded. Then the Kings used their lottery pick on Nik Stauskas, another shooting guard whose arrival sends a message to McLemore that there could be a training camp battle for the starting spot. There should be more shots available with Darren Collison replacing Isaiah Thomas at point guard. If McLemore is going to get any of them, he has to become a better shooter than 37 percent.

KAWHI LEONARD, SAN ANTONIO: The Finals MVP isn’t necessarily on the spot this season, because the Big Three are still around. But he probably will get a contract extension averaging eight figures before the Halloween deadline, and that deal will begin next season, when Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili may be gone and the Spurs will belong to him and Tony Parker. In the long view, Leonard is the cornerstone and has to show that he is capable of a starring role.

JONAS VALANCIUNAS, TORONTO: No current rotation player has a higher ceiling than Valanciunas, who showed what he is capable of in the World Cup, where he averaged 14.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 25 minutes and was dominant at times. If the Raptors are going to be more than just a playoff team and take the next step into contention in the East, they need Valanciunas to start displaying consistency.

GORDON HAYWARD, UTAH: The Jazz were true to their word and matched any offer received by Hayward, who will rake in $63 million over the next four years. For that money, Hayward will be expected to serve as the face of the franchise and elevate an extremely young team through a rebuilding phase with leadership both on and off the court. That’s a lot to ask of a player who thus far has been good but not great.

OTTO PORTER, WASHINGTON: Trevor Ariza left via free agency. Martell Webster had his third back surgery this summer and will miss at least the first month of the season. Offseason acquisition Paul Pierce turns 37 during training camp. There is clearly an opening for Porter, whose awful rookie season as the No. 3 pick was obscured by the equally awful rookie season by the No. 1 pick. This is his chance to show the Wizards they didn’t make a mistake.

Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His column appears every Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.