All 30 NBA GM's voted on how they see the league shaking out this season … Andrew, Jeff, Colin, and myself are doing the same today (I think we have as good of a track as the expert GM's … haha). The GM's were not allowed to vote for their own franchises.
These results shouldn't surprise anyone:
Which team will win the Eastern Conference?
1. Miami — 96.7%
2. Boston — 3.3%Last year: Miami — 96.3%
Which team will win the Western Conference?
1. L.A. Lakers — 60.0%
2. Oklahoma City — 36.7%
3. Denver — 3.3%Last year: Oklahoma City — 67.9%
And the GM’s don’t see the Nuggets really challenging the Thunder for the Northwest Division title:
Which team will win the Northwest Division?
1. Oklahoma City — 86.7%
2. Denver — 10.0%
3. Minnesota — 3.3%Last year: Oklahoma City — 71.4%
GM’s did recognize that Andre Iguodala was a sneaky good move by the Nuggets:
What was the most underrated player acquisition?
1. Andre Iguodala, Denver — 16.7%
2. Jason Terry, Boston — 13.3%
3. Courtney Lee, Boston — 10.0%
4. Ryan Anderson, New Orleans, Andrei Kirilenko, Minnesota, Brandon Roy, Minnesota, Lou Williams, Atlanta — 6.7%Also receiving votes: Ray Allen, Miami; Marcus Camby, New York; Gerald Green, Indiana; Grant Hill, L.A. Clippers; Chris Kaman, Dallas; Kyle Lowry, Toronto; O.J. Mayo, Dallas; Darko Milicic, Boston; Steve Nash, L.A. Lakers; Alexey Shved, Minnesota
Last year: Brandon Bass, David West — 15.4%
GM’s were not allowed to vote for their own franchise, so it is nice to see Evan Fournier getting a little love from somebody in the mentions part here (it should also be noted that Jared Sullinger was on the board when the Nuggets picked at No. 20 and Andrew Nicholson was on the Nuggets’ radar, but was taken No. 19 by Orlando):
Which rookie is most likely to be a “sleeper” success?
1. Jared Sullinger, Boston — 17.2%
2. Maurice Harkless, Orlando, Andrew Nicholson, Orlando — 13.8%
4. Jae Crowder, Dallas, Damian Lillard, Portland — 10.3%
6. Terrence Jones, Houston — 6.9%Also receiving votes: Jared Cunningham, Dallas; Andre Drummond, Detroit; Evan Fournier, Denver; John Jenkins, Atlanta; Perry Jones, Oklahoma City; Doron Lamb, Milwaukee; Donatas Motiejunas, Houston; Terrence Ross, Toronto
Last year: Norris Cole — 44.0%
Danilo Gallinari getting a few nods at No. 4 here:
Which international player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2012-13?
1. Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto — 17.2%
2. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota — 13.8%
3. Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota — 13.8%
4. Goran Dragic, Phoenix, Danilo Gallinari, Denver, Donatas Motiejunas, Houston, Kevin Seraphin, Washington, Alexey Shved, Minnesota, Mirza Teletovic, Brooklyn — 6.9%Also receiving votes: Christian Eyenga, Orlando; Evan Fournier, Denver; Enes Kanter, Utah; Tiago Splitter, San Antonio; Jan Vesely, Washington
Last year: Ricky Rubio — 37.0%
Iguodala not getting quite as much love here as I would have hoped for:
Who is the best perimeter defender in the NBA?
1. Tony Allen, Memphis — 33.3%
2. LeBron James, Miami — 26.7%
3. Avery Bradley, Boston, Andre Iguodala, Denver, Rajon Rondo, Boston, Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City — 6.7%Also receiving votes: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers; Eric Gordon, New Orleans; Dahntay Jones, Dallas; Metta World Peace, L.A. Lakers
Last year: Tony Allen — 26.9%
George Karl getting some love for his in-game adjustments and taking top honors among GM’s for having the best offense:
Which head coach makes the best in-game adjustments?
1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio — 40.0%
2. Rick Carlisle, Dallas — 20.0%
3. Doug Collins, Philadelphia — 13.3%
4. Rick Adelman, Minnesota — 6.7%
5. George Karl, Denver — 6.7%
6. Doc Rivers, Boston — 6.7%Also receiving votes: Mike Brown, L.A. Lakers; Tom Thibodeau, Chicago
Last year: Gregg Popovich — 35.7%
Which head coach runs the best offense?
1. George Karl, Denver — 31.0%
2. Rick Adelman, Minnesota, Gregg Popovich, San Antonio — 27.6%
4. Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City, Alvin Gentry, Phoenix — 6.9%Last year: George Karl — 22.2%
And finally, Kenneth Faried finally getting a little love for being an NBA tough guy:
Who is the toughest player in the NBA?
1. Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers — 26.7%
2. Metta World Peace, L.A. Lakers — 10.0%
3. Reggie Evans, Brooklyn — 6.7%, Kenneth Faried, Denver — 6.7%, Kevin Garnett, Boston — 6.7%, LeBron James, Miami — 6.7%, Rajon Rondo, Boston — 6.7%Also receiving votes: Eric Bledsoe, L.A. Clippers; Tim Duncan, San Antonio; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio; Marcin Gortat, Phoenix; Zaza Pachulia, Atlanta; Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers; Zach Randolph, Memphis; Anderson Varejao, Cleveland; David West, Indiana
Last year: Kobe Bryant — 32.1%
Nate_Timmons on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nate_Timmons
[email protected]
