After one of the more hectic off-seasons in recent memory, the NBA is finally set to return with the preseason now officially underway.

From the big headline of LeBron James returning home to Cleveland and forming a new “Big Three” with Kyrie Irving and newly-acquired Kevin Love, to smaller moves such as Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler teaming with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas and Pau Gasol joining Chicago, there was certainly no shortage of activity to follow this summer.

Now, however, it is time for the action to return to the court, as preseason basketball officially began this past weekend. With just weeks until the regular season, there are plenty of worthy storylines to follow this preseason. Here are five that are especially interesting to track in the coming weeks (WARNING: Number one will not come as a surprise):

1) The New Big Three: LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the biggest offseason storyline is also the most exciting one heading into the season. Just one year after finishing 16 games under .500, and four excruciating years after infamously losing hometown hero LeBron James in free agency to the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers are poised for one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in recent memory, if not all of the league’s history.

After convincing James to return to the team in free agency, the Cavs then made a blockbuster trade for Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love, arguably the best forward in the league, in exchange for the past two number one overall draft selections Anthony Bennett (2013) and Andrew Wiggins (2014). The return of “the King,” the “two towers” in the post in Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao and the presence of Kyrie Irving have to make Clevelanders feel good about their search for the elusive and almighty ring for the first time in team history (I’m sorry, I couldn’t think of a cross-curricular “Hobbit” reference).

However, if we remember back to four years ago, when LeBron joined with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the expectation was to win titles on titles on titles. In reality, that didn’t quite happen: though the Miami “Big Three” made it to the NBA Finals in each of the four years they were together, and won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, they lost the championship to San Antonio this past season and to Dallas in their first finals appearance together in 2011. In particular, that 2011 season showed the importance of team chemistry as a factor in overall success, as the Heat never seemed to “gel” properly until the following season. With this in mind, it is wise to temper expectations for this Cleveland team, at least in their first year as a unit.

I will say that, as someone who has seen a majority of Kevin Love’s professional games, I think that he (and Kyrie Irving) are a more natural fit for LeBron than the duo of Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh originally were. Bosh played fairly well alongside James, but it took Wade and LeBron quite a while to figure out how to play off one another effectively. It is hard to see that happening in Cleveland, as the dynamic between LeBron, Love and Irving is different. The pick and pop ability of Love could spell death for defenses, who will be unable to guard both Kyrie/LeBron off the dribble and Love spotting up behind the three point line.

Also, the context of the situation is different: in Miami, there was often debate in the early years over who was the true leader of the team between Wade and LeBron. In Cleveland, however, there is no debate: LeBron is the unquestioned alpha male. This should make for less conflict and uncertainty on the court, but again, anything can happen when a team hasn’t had the chance to play alongside one another for an extended period of time.

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2) The return of Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose (we think)

It appears that two of the NBA’s best are set to return to form this season after each missed nearly the entire 2013-2014 season due to injury. Kobe Bryant, who played just six games last season—all in December—after fracturing his tibia (in the knee) during a return from an Achilles injury, is reportedly back to “old Kobe” form following an offseason of strengthening and rehab. If he is truly healthy able to remain that way all season, the Western Conference will have an added flavor of intrigue, as if there is one thing Kobe has taught us over the years, it is to never count his team out.

However, at 36 old, Kobe is at an age where athletically, the body can sometimes no longer do what the mind wants it to. Only time will tell if Kobe will truly return to his form of old and also be able to stay on the court all season. If he does, the Lakers could likely be relevant again in the West.

Rose is an interesting case. After tearing his left ACL in the first game of the 2012 playoffs, he not only missed the post season but the entire following 2012-2013 season as well. Many called him a Sally for not returning to the court in lieu of the Bulls’ championship aspirations and because the length of his absence far exceeded his doctors’ original predictions.

Thus, when he returned in 2013-2014, fans expected a lot. However, just ten games into the season, Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee, and was deemed out for the rest of the year following a successful surgery. In the time since, Rose has become somewhat of a forgotten star. Fans don’t seem to be nearly as excited for his second comeback as they were for the first, and although he seemed healthy while playing nine games for Team USA in the FIBA Championships this summer, there seems to be a general feeling that he won’t last through the whole season.

The preseason will be critical for Rose, as he will need to a) stay healthy, and b) gain chemistry with his teammates, many of whom are different from when he last played a full season in 2011-2012. It will be interesting to follow his progress, for if he can stay healthy, the Bulls have a legitimate chance to contend for an Eastern Conference title and finals berth this year.

3) Which rookies are poised to make an impact right away?

This summer’s draft was touted as one of the deeper drafts in recent memory, and footage of the rookies from the NBA’s Summer League has had fans buzzing. Now, as the preseason commences, those rookies will have their first opportunity to play official NBA basketball with their respective teams. It will serve as a golden opportunity for the “rooks” to earn playing time before the regular season starts.

It will be especially exciting to watch the play of No. 1 overall selection Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves and No. 2 overall selection Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are just 19 years of age, and have been compared to the rookie versions of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who both were drafted in the now-infamous 2004 NBA Draft. Both Wiggins and Parker find themselves in favorable situations to earn minutes, and especially Parker, who looks to provide a glimmer of hope for a Bucks team that was, quite frankly, horrendous last season.

Other rookies to watch include Julius Randle of the Lakers, who will likely be counted on to play significant minutes, Doug McDermitt of the Bulls, who will undoubtedly induce some “there’s a sniper in the building” moments this season with his three-point shooting, and Timberwolves guard Zach Lavine, who is arguably the best dunker in the league already despite not having played in a regular season game yet.

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4) Will youth reign this season? Or will experience win out?

We’ve heard it every preseason for the last half-decade: San Antonio is getting too old to compete for a championship. On paper, there is once again reason to believe that this could be an accurate prediction: The three-man core of the Spurs for the last 13 years is getting awfully old, by NBA standards. Tim Duncan is now 38, Manu Ginobli is 37 and the “baby of the bunch”, Tony Parker, is 32. It only seems logical that this team should be showing signs of deterioration.

Yet, in three of the last four years, the Spurs have finished atop the Western Conference at the end of the regular season, and they have made back-to-back finals appearances. This past year, in case you have forgotten, the Spurs not only defeated the LeBron-led Heat in the finals for their fifth championship in the last 15 years, but every game they won was by 15-plus points. The only game they lost in the series to Miami was by two points. The translation: the Spurs were dominant. As they have proven time in and time out, it would be unwise to doubt them in their quest for a third straight title appearance. As long as Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are playing for a Gregg Popovich-led team, my money is on them being competitive.

On the other side of the age spectrum, there are quite a few rising teams to make note of being led by a plethora of youthful players. Though these teams may not compete for an NBA title this season, there is plenty of excitement surrounding the future. The headliners of this youth movement include Phoenix (led by Goran Dragic, 28, Gerald Green, 28, and Eric Bledsoe, 24) and Toronto (led by Kyle Lowry, 28, Jonas Valanciunas, 22, and DeMar DeRozan, 25) each of which won 48 games last season. Toronto’s Chuck Hayes, 31, is the only player on either roster over the age of 30. Both teams will look to continue their success and eclipse the 50-win mark this season.

Other young teams, like the Charlotte Hornets (led by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 21, Al Jefferson, 29, and Kemba Walker, 24) and the New Orleans Pelicans (led by Anthony Davis, 21, Jrue Holiday, 24, and Eric Gordon, 25) are loaded with young talent and look primed to rise this season, although it will probably be tough sledding for the Pelicans in the loaded Western Conference.

Even super-young and inexperienced teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves (Andrew Wiggins, 19, Zach Lavine, 19, Ricky Rubio, 23) and the Utah Jazz (Dante Exum, 19, Trey Burke, 21, and Gordon Hayward, 24) may surprise people this year. It will be fun to watch the competitive dynamic of how the experienced veteran teams matchup against the wily, testosterone-infused younger teams this season.

5) Will weight loss and summer dieting change the entire landscape of the NBA?

All the trades and movement in free agency hasn’t been the only activity going on in the NBA this offseason: there has also been a fair amount of rigorous physical activity and dieting for a number of NBA players.

Headlining a large group of players that will enter the season lighter than they were last season are LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who have both dropped a significant amount of weight in efforts to prolong their careers. Other weight-loss cases include: Miami star Dwayne Wade changing his diet in hopes of putting less stress on his aging knees, 2013 first-overall draft selection and Timberwolves forward Anthony Bennett and fellow teammate Shabazz Muhammad undergoing a radical offseason workout regimen, reportedly having lost 15 and 20 pounds respectively, and 2014 second-overall draft selection JaBari Parker losing 10 pounds in hopes of dispelling concerns that he might be out of shape.

Other examples include Utah Jazz forward/center Derrick Favors converting 10 pounds of body fat into muscle, and Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger losing an undetermined amount of weight as he tries to stay healthier this season than he has been in the past.

The vast weight loss we are seeing from NBA players could have significant effects on the upcoming season. Lighter players are generally quicker, and thus, we could very well see a transformation in the games of LeBron, Carmelo and the others. A lighter body should be just what the doctor ordered for players like Bennett, Muhammad, and Sullinger, who have had stretches of promising play in their brief careers but have also been limited by their subpar physical shape. The weight loss should also translate into less wear and tear on players’ bodies, thereby allowing them to see more court time over the length of the season, which could be critical for teams vying for playoff teams down the stretch. 

These storylines are just a few of the many surrounding the return of NBA basketball. Fortunately, with the preseason under way already, we won’t have to wait too long before they develop. 

Follow Staff Reporter Ben Albert on Twitter @hermthegerm13