NBA camps open with Durant, Duren among five names under pressure

Yahoo Sports' countdown of the people facing the most heat in 2026-27 opens with Kevin Durant in Houston and an unsigned Jalen Duren in Detroit.

NBA training camps have opened ahead of the 2026-27 season, and Yahoo Sports has published a list of the 10 players, coaches and executives it considers under the most pressure. The entries detailed, counting down from No. 10 to No. 6, cover Kevin Durant, Jeff Weltman, Zion Williamson, Ben Tenzer and Jalen Duren.

Durant, the Houston Rockets forward, sits at No. 10. He will be 38 when the season begins and already owns two championships and two Finals MVPs, all won with Golden State. Yahoo writes that coming up short in Oklahoma City, Brooklyn and Phoenix has strengthened the argument that his titles rested on the Warriors, an argument a championship in Houston would answer.

The Rockets won 52 games last season despite losing Fred VanVleet for the entire year and Steven Adams midway through it. Durant played 78 games before knee and ankle injuries held him to one appearance in the first-round exit against the Lakers. The report also points to Houston's decision not to make a competitive offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo as evidence that the young core remains the priority, and notes that after last season's unconfirmed allegations that Durant criticized teammates through a burner account, another ugly ending would bring heavier scrutiny of his leadership.

Orlando Magic general manager Jeff Weltman lands at No. 9 after his team squandered a 3-1 first-round lead against Detroit. The Magic fired coach Jahmal Mosley, hired Sean Sweeney and made a single roster change, with Nikola Vučević replacing Moe Wagner. Weltman had already traded four first-round picks and a swap for Desmond Bane to address weak 3-point shooting, a move that improved things without solving the problem, and he has since received a contract extension. With Franz Wagner having missed the final three games of the Detroit series, Yahoo asks whether inconsistent play from him and Paolo Banchero could eventually force the franchise to split the pair.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson takes No. 8. He appeared in 62 games last season on a team that won 26, and the report centers on his continuing reluctance to shoot. "It's not that I don't want to shoot them, I just hate when I miss," Williamson told reporters in February, wording Yahoo notes he also used in a 2022 interview. The piece cites his 70% free-throw shooting as a sign he has the touch to become a capable outside shooter.

Denver's Ben Tenzer, the executive vice president of basketball operations, occupies No. 7. The Nuggets have not advanced past the second round since winning the 2023 championship, after which then-general manager Calvin Booth spoke of building a dynasty; Booth and longtime coach Michael Malone were fired on the same day at the end of the 2024-25 season. Yahoo says team president Josh Kroenke deserves scrutiny for the roster around Nikola Jokić, but with injury-prone starters, a thin bench and a rising Western Conference, Tenzer is the one whose position would be at risk if Denver falls short again.

Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, at No. 6, was still unsigned as the club held media day Monday. An All-NBA regular season gave way to a poor playoff run in which his scoring fell from 19.5 to 10.2 points per game and his field goal percentage from 65 to 51.4, with Paul Reed playing the entire fourth quarter and overtime of Game 5 against Cleveland while Duren sat.

The Athletic's Sam Amick reported this month that Detroit offered five years and $190 million, that Duren wants at least $200 million and that he would otherwise consider the $9.6 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Pistons are building around Cade Cunningham, and Yahoo's conclusion is that Duren must prove his breakout was sustainable and carry it into the playoffs, whatever contract he signs.