Trade rumors, coaching hot seat, and predictions

As the NBA season ends Tuesday, The Post’s top writers — Stefan Bondy, Brian Lewis and Mike Vaccaro — ask and answer the key questions.

1. The biggest story of the NBA season will be ______

Bondi: The fate of Giannis Antetokounmpo. If the Bucks struggle — I think that’s likely — so will the league On Giannis’ watch Until the trade deadline on February 5. If Antetokounmpo sticks with the Bucks, we will restart the clock in the summer.

Lewis: Giannis Antetokounmpo. once again. Stop us if you’ve heard this before. Yes, they’ll open the season in Milwaukee, but if the Bucks start slow (quite possible, even in a weak East), then what? This story is happening again, and — barring LeBron James’ retirement — it’s the biggest in the league until the deadline, or even all summer.

Vaccaro: How the Lakers go from being Team LeBron to being Team Luka.

2. This team will be better than expected

Bondi: Tottenham. Victor Wimbanyama is back and ready to resume his rise to major stardom. De’Aaron Fox is expected to return from his hamstring injury. Stephon Castle looks legit. If they are healthy, the Spurs will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Lewis: Golden State is expected to be strong, with an over-under win total of 47.5 by FanDuel and 45.5 by BetMGM. But few seem to realize how good they played with Jimmy Butler last season, as they won 76.7 percent with him in the lineup. This equates to 63-19.

Vaccaro: Celtics. They’re not elite without Jayson Tatum. but There’s still enough there Being much better than people think.

3. This team will be worse than expected

Bondi: Rockets. They weren’t title contenders — despite the hype — even before Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury. Now they have no point guard and will miss the defensive presence of Dillon Brooks. Kevin Durant is 37 years old and has won two playoff series since leaving the Warriors.

Lewis: The 76ers. While the Kings are more likely to fail to deliver, the 76ers are more likely to completely collapse compared to expectations. Ten percent of GMs in the league picked them fourth in the East and BetMGM put their over/under win total at 42.5, but with Joel Embiid playing just 19 games last season and 39 the year before, this It can go sideways.

Vaccaro: Rockets. And yes, losing Fred VanVleet hurts at first. But at some point Kevin Durant’s performance will decline as well. Maybe this year.

4. This player will feature this season

Bondi: Zion Williamson. Finally, his body was legitimately skinny, he looked lean and he was still only 25 years old. He’s destined for greatness and is achieving it this season, even though the Pelicans still have a bad roster.

Lewis: Amen Thompson. An injury to Fred VanVleet will hurt Houston, but the elite athlete Thompson is the favorite of most improved players and favored by GMs in the league as well.

Vaccaro: Ozar Thompson, Pistons. What We saw it in the qualifiers Last year was tempting. Is he ready to make a big move for Detroit?

5. If I were this coach, I would be worried about the security of my job

Bondi: There are several obvious candidates for this ranking, including Milwaukee’s Doc Rivers, Philadelphia’s Nick Nurse, Washington’s Brian Keefe, Toronto’s Darko Rajakovic, and New Orleans’ Willie Green. But this league is full of surprise firings — no one thought Mike Malone, Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins would be fired midway through last season — so let’s go with Orlando’s less visible Jamaal Moseley, who is burdened by the high expectations of an unproven roster.

Lewis: Doc Rivers doesn’t have a lot of room for error in Milwaukee. He couldn’t get the Bucks back when they had Damian Lillard, and now he has to win enough to satisfy his team and Antetokounmpo.

Vaccaro: Nick Nurse, 76ers. Man, he’s looked miserable every day for the past year. Can he survive – and does he even want to survive – a slow start?

6. The biggest name that will be moved by the trade deadline is ______

Bondi: The easy answer is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be the subject of rumors until February 5th. But I’m betting he won’t be traded during the season, so let’s go with Lauri Markkanen, the former Finnish All-Star who is wasted in Utah.

Lewis: Lauri Markkanen. Utah rejected an offer from the Warriors for the summer of 2024, anticipating better offers. They never got it. Rest assured if they get the 28-year-old star this time, they will jump on it.

Vaccaro: Lauri Markkanen Because it doesn’t look like his schedule will match up with the Jazz at all.

7. Words associated with these players this season – one word for each to describe what this player’s season will be like:

LeBron James

Bondi: big; Lewis: king; Vaccaro: stubborn

Victor Wembanyama

Bondi: Incomparable. Lewis: problem; Vaccaro: brilliant

Kevin Durant

Bondi: unhappy; Lewis: bargaining(?); Vaccaro: sad

Luka Doncic

Bondi: Buckets Lewis: motives; Vaccaro: Ascending

Cooper Flag

Bondi: justification Lewis: fixed; Vaccaro: amazing

8. He will be the best player of the season ______

Bondi: Nikola Jokic. He’s still the best player in the NBA and the Nuggets will improve from last season, paving the way for Jokic to take home his fourth MVP award.

Lewis: Nikola Jokic. He regains his crown from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Vaccaro: Nikola Jokic. He has a team good enough to win it all again. He’ll be great every game.

9. The NBA Finals game and the winner will be ______

Bondi: Oklahoma City over Cleveland. Not exactly out on a limb with the two best records from last season, but the age of the rosters suggests both teams are just getting started.

Lewis: Oklahoma City over Orlando. Despite the quality of the loaded Western Conference, the Rolling Thunder advance to the Finals and defend their title starting a run that resembles the bull run of the 1990s.

Vaccaro: Nuggets beat Knicks The Knicks won’t have any answers for Nikola Jokic, down in six games, and neither will they for the rest of the year as one of the league’s remarkable careers reaches its true peak.

10. My bold prediction for this season is ______

Bondi: The Warriors miss the playoffs. Father Time catches up with everyone when he hits Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

Lewis: This is the year the Magic take a big step forward and win the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are in growing pains with a new coach and the Cavaliers are struggling with injuries, while Orlando is simply struggling through the conference with a dominant defense and an offense that is finally good enough.

Vaccaro: Joel Embiid will play well enough to win Comeback Player of the Year honors.