Storylines that bear watching in the coming months

	Mike Dunleavy (left) and Troy Murphy give the Warriors a retro look. Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

As we settle into the new year, one burning question sticks in my mind: What Golden State Warrior will emerge to play bass in the garage band apparently being formed by Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy?

Have you seen these dudes lately? They're looking a lot like hangovers from that underrated Bay Area '60s group, Big Brother and the Holding Company, best known, of course, for its bluesy and star-crossed lead singer, the late, great Janis Joplin. Mikey D and T.M. are going long, straight and stringy on top, and they have the headband working, too. I know the look. I had the look for a while back in 1969, though -- trust me on this -- all photos have been destroyed.

If Adam Morrison could only manage to get traded from Charlotte to Golden State, the trio would be complete. Mikey D on lead guitar, the geeky T.M. banging the drums, the enigmatic Morrison on bass. A.M. doesn't have precisely the Dunleavy-Murphy hair look, but he's got the unkempt, unruly mane thing going, and also that tortured-artist face that says, "Don't bother me, dude. I'm writing a song."

(This just in, by the way: Big Brother is still playing gigs with a couple of the original members. If you have a choice between that and a Warriors game, you have to think long and hard.)

Anyway, here is a five-pack of other storylines that I, for one, can't wait to see play out over the next several months. (I am leaving out the already over-discussed what's-with-the-Knicks? and the can-Iverson-and-Carmelo-play-together?). In descending order of interest:

5. Will Jason Kidd's personal problems create personnel problems for the Nets?

I feel for Kidd and his tabloid-fueled divorce. But when an elite player takes out a protection of abuse order against his spouse, and that couple has had legal trouble before, it is obviously legit news, just the kind of news, obviously, the underachieving Nets don't need.

Adhering to a policy of admitting my mistakes, I remind you that New Jersey was my choice to win the East. But the Nets' season has devolved into a crusade simply to win the Atlantic Division, which I figured they would be able to do with one hand tied behind their collective back, which is sort of how they've played the entire season.

Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, management will not -- cannot -- wait another year to see if the Kidd-Carter-Jefferson troika can get them to the top. Kidd became a casualty in Phoenix when his marital difficulties became newspaper fodder ... and the fodder is harder to digest in the metro area.

Best guess: The Nets will look hard for someone to take on the two years and $41.1 million left on J-Kidd's contract.

4. The battle for the soul of L.A.

Here's what Donald Sterling is thinking right now.

I finally spend some money and for what? Tenth place in the West? Hell, I could've let everybody walk into the sunset and gotten an NBA coach on the cheap -- is Gene Shue available? -- instead of extending Mike Dunleavy (have you seen his kid's hair lately, by the way?) if I knew I'd be below .500 in January.

OK, I really don't know what Donald Sterling is thinking. Sometimes Donald Sterling doesn't know what Donald Sterling is thinking.

But I still think the Clippers can come back and be a good team -- witness a gutsy road win Wednesday in Minnesota -- and the Lakers could come back to earth a bit -- witness two straight losses, albeit on the road, to Memphis and Houston. It's going to be interesting to see if the Clippers give back some of the ground they gained on their hated purple and gold rivals last season.

Best guess: The Clips manage to sneak into the postseason but lose in the first round, while the Lakers finish sixth in the conference but also go out quickly.