Surprises of the 2012-2013 NBA GM Survey

Surprises of the 2012-2013 NBA GM Survey

With the 11th annual release of the NBA GM Survey comes the typical head scratching by casual and hardcore NBA fans alike, as we take a look in at some of the more questionable GM picks for the upcoming 2012-2013 NBA season.

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%

While I completely understand that the Nuggets have the deepest squad in the NBA, what I don't understand is that the GM's gave the Nuggets a better shot at getting out of the West then a veteran Spurs Squad that has just as destructive of an offense as Denver does, and was only two games away from the NBA Finals. Call me a Spurs homer, but that one is a definitely a head scratcher to me.

Which team will win the Atlantic Division?

1. Boston -- 66.7% 
2. Brooklyn and New York -- 13.3% 
4. Philadelphia -- 6.7%

Last year: Boston -- 64.3%

While both the Nets and the Knicks made quite a bit of moves over the off-season, outside of Deron Williams, the next biggest acquisition was made by the Sixers when they added a potential franchise centerpiece in Andrew Bynum. While both the Knicks and the Nets have more star power in their starting lineups, I'll take the consistency and stability of a Doug Collins led Sixers group that has much more familiarity within its roster then both of New York's teams put together.

Aside from that, I have to say that I'm pretty satisfied with the GM's division winner picks. And with that, I'll move on to the players section.

Who will win the 2012-13 MVP?

1. LeBron James, Miami -- 66.7% 
2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City -- 30.0% 
3. Carmelo Anthony, New York -- 3.3%

Last year: Kevin Durant -- 66.7%

While Lebron and Durant are the safe(and obvious) choices for the MVP award, I'll have to disagree with Carmelo Anthony being the biggest potential dark horse. While Melo could win the award in a Derrick Rose type fashion( unexpectedly turning a franchise around and basically becoming the number 1 feel good story in the NBA even if your stats aren't quite as impressive as other MVP candidates) I feel that Melo would need 1(or 50) to many things to go right in order for him to be seriously considered in the MVP race. Especially under the drama that is New York City, I'll gladly take the goliath's of LA(Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant) as my 2 potential dark horse candidates for the MVP award outside of Lebron and KD.

And that's my only major gripe in the players section. While I had an issue or two with other selections in the player section, it was nitpicking so I just decided to leave it.

........ Well I looked at the off-season moves, and none of the picks stood out as particularly bad, so uhhhhhhhhh moving on  to rookies and international then.

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%

My pick for the most likely sleeper success has to be Andre Drummond. Seeing as how very few people are expecting Drummond to make major noise his rookie year, if he's not a major rookie of the year contender, then I'll put him in the sleeper category. Just from his potential and huge upside alone, I would say that Drummond can be much more successful then the majority of this years rookie class. Even if he's raw offensively, his length combined with his athleticism gives him a great chance to become a monster defensively. 

Who is the best international player in the NBA?

1. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas -- 72.4% 
2. Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers -- 10.3%

Also receiving votes: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio; Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City; Andrei Kirilenko, Minnesota; Steve Nash, L.A. Lakers; Tony Parker, San Antonio

Last year: Dirk Nowitzki -- 96.4%

While Dirk is undeniably the top international player in the NBA, I'd like to put Ginobili in a tie for second with Pau Gasol. While Gasol has been more dominant at his position then Ginobili, Manu has been able to pump out just as much production (statistically speaking) in considerably fewer minutes career wise. That combined with the fact that Manu has practically won at every level possible, makes me put him in a tie with Gasol for the second best international NBA player.

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%

Simply put, I don't even consider rookies to be eligible for having break out seasons . With that said, with Rubio sidelined for most of the year, as well as Kevin Love's recent injury, the front court void will be filled by Nikola Pekovic who is my top candidate for having a breakout year for his toughness and presence on the inside. It also helps that he'll be seen more on  nationally televised games. And a potential spot in the playoffs this year doesn't exactly hurt his chances either.

DEFENSE

Who is the best defensive player in the NBA?

1. Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers -- 60.0% 
2. LeBron James, Miami -- 16.7% 
3. Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City -- 13.3%

Also receiving votes: Tyson Chandler, New York; Kevin Garnett, Boston; Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City

Last year: Dwight Howard -- 76.9%

Howard and Lebron are the top two defensive players in the NBA, that's a not so dirty secret that we all know. An actual dirty secret that I'd like to bring to light, is that Tyson Chandler is a better defensive player then Serge Ibaka. I think we should all quit overrating blocks, because that seems to be the only reason why we think that Ibaka is an elite defensive player. We should all know that a good defense is just more then how many shots you swat into the stands, or how well you crash the boards, but rather a good defense should take into account many more things then the casual fan can keep track of. And with that said, common and advanced statistics showed that Chandler had far more of an impact defensively in multiple areas than Serge Ibaka(blocks aside of course). And with that said, I think we should agree that Chandler is the better defender of the two. My response to best interior defender is the same as the response to the best defensive player FYI.

As for coaches, I have no major issues with the GM picks in that department. And I'm not going to bother saying anything about miscellaneous considering that that's the most opinionated category, and that their's probably no right or wrong answer for any of the questions asked in that section.

And that's all for this post. If you have any comments AT ALL regarding any of my selections or anything the GM's said, feel free to leave a comment about it.