By Ric Bucher, Melissa Rohlin and Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writers
After an offseason of blockbuster trades, trade requests (some of which are still unsettled), a high-profile restricted free agency saga and a handful of team scandals, the 2022-23 NBA season promises to be interesting.
That feels especially true now that there’s growing belief that Victor Wembanyama, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is going to be a star.
In anticipation of opening night on Tuesday, we asked our NBA staff writers a few questions about the league’s biggest stars, teams and storylines for the upcoming season.
What is your biggest, boldest, juiciest prediction for this season?
Bucher: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will not finish the season with the Brooklyn Nets. It just feels like an all-or-none season for the Nets. They’re one of several teams that could end up in the Finals or scratching to make the playoffs. The schedule-makers did them no favors with their first five games being against the Pelicans, Raptors, Grizzlies, Bucks and Mavericks, testing an already fragile chemistry and trust in their head coach, Steve Nash. If they don’t look like a title contender at midseason, I could see Sean Marks and Joe Tsai pulling the rip cord, having a fire sale and starting over.
Weitzman: That I’m buying the Nets.
Rohlin: The Lakers are going to be contenders. There’s no way LeBron James is going to let the team flounder again. Last season was an embarrassment for both him and the organization. After entering the season with championship expectations, they fell flat on their face, missing the play-in tournament with a dismal record of 33-49.
James, a four-time champion, is used to winning, taking the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals eight straight seasons from 2011 to 2018 and then leading the Lakers to a title in 2020. For a guy used to that kind of success, missing the playoffs two years in a row would be unimaginable.
Regardless of what happens with Anthony Davis‘ health and Russell Westbrook‘s status on the team, make no mistake that The King will carry the team to the playoffs this time around, even if it means he has to win the scoring title and assist title in his 20th season.
A Warriors repeat. Likely or unlikely? (And if not them, who is your Finals pick?)
Bucher: Unlikely. They weren’t the best team last year, just the healthiest team at the right time. The LA Clippers will win the West. Too deep, too well-coached, too…
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