The annual NBA general manager survery was released on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, 69 percent of those surveyed believe the Golden State Warriors will win the title this season. They are followed in line by last year’s champion Cleveland Cavaliers at 31 percent.
Interestingly enough, the very same survery opted to go with the Cavaliers this time last season.
The survey itself is interesting for a number of reasons. Rather than giving us projections based on Vegas odds or what pundits believe, it allows us to understand where NBA front offices stand heading into the season.
A total of 46.7 percent of those surveyed believe LeBron James will win the NBA MVP this season. He’s followed by Russell Westbrook at 23.3 percent and two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry as well as James Harden at 10 percent.
Again, there shouldn’t be much of a surprise here. While Curry has won the past two awards, the Warriors’ addition of Kevin Durant seems to suggest that a third consecutive trophy isn’t all too likely. Even if the Warriors were to top the 70-win plateau, could Curry be considered the Association’s most valuable with Durant on the roster?
Here are some more interesting tidbits from the survey.
* A total of 48.3 percent of GM’s chose Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the one player they’d start a franchise with. The aforementioned Kevin Durant came in second at 20.7 percent.
* Accordingly, 56.7 percent of those surveyed believe the Timberwolves will be the Association’s most improved team this year. That is in no small part due to Towns’ presence in Minnesota.
* Speaking of Minnesota, 46.7 percent believe Wolves guard Kris Dunn will win the Rookie of the Year award. He’s followed in line by Buddy Hield of the New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons, each at under 14 percent.
* In the least surprising development of the survey, 80 percent of those surveyed believe the Warriors’ addition of Durant was the most impactful off-season move around the NBA. Related to that, 46.7 percent believe it was the most-surprising move. That was followed in line by Dwyane Wade’s decisions to leave the Miami Heat for the Chicago Bulls.
Here’s the entire survery from the official NBA website.