RealGM Rookie Of The Year Poll

[Elden Payton]

You're allowed one vote each.

The finished order will be in order of votes.

Please provide a breakdown in your response.

The rookies on the poll will get the most burn imo.

No revoting in this one sorry folks.

[BlazertheGreek]

My homer pick is going to be Damian Lillard. The reason why I say this is because Portland does not have any other decent point guards (Nolan Smith will be his backup). With Terry Stotts being the new coach, he will bring a more up tempo brand of basketball to Portland which means Lillard will have ample opportunity to fill up the stat sheet. He is a good scorer with playmaking ability. With Aldridge at his side, I think he will utilize the pick and roll like he did with Myers Leonard in the summer league. Damian Lillard with the upset over Anthony Davis.

[Elden Payton]

I'm a Charlotte fan and I voted for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist; this is no homerism as I think he will have the most impact as a rookie.

Davis might need a little time to adjust with his frame, aggressive defense and limited post moves.

Charlotte will not win many games this year but Gilchrist will stuff stat sheets and show people exactly how good he is, I am not claiming he will have a better career than Davis but I believe him to be more NBA ready and have more of an impact both offensively and defensively (in his rookie year)

The ESPN NBA Rookie Poll asked who is the best defender and Gilchrist got 28.6 percent of the vote compared to 14.3 percent to Davis.The rookies couldn't vote for themselves or college or pro teammates.

I optimistically expect 15/7/3/1/1 and some credibility for Charlotte.

Davis probably 12/9/1/2
Beal 14/5/2
Lillard 16/3/3
Valanciunas 12/7/1/1
Barnes 15/5/2
Robinson 14/9/1
Waiters 8/2/1
Drummond 4/4/1

[TwentyOne920]

Davis is in pole position especially if he gets quite a few nice double-doubles. OTOH scoring is the primary criterion for most season awards (except DPOY, where steals, blocks, and defensive rating rule) so given how MKG and Lillard are given the keys to the offense, they should have a chance to wrest it away.

[blue and white]

other: Andrew Nicholson

[TylerTheDebater]

I really think Anthony Davis's Olympics experience is going to help him more than most expect. He was already the favorite, but spending a month with the best players in the NBA (including Tyson Chandler, the player he's usually compared to) will do him wonders his first year. I'm sure they all gave him pointers on adjusting to NBA life and an NBA season.

[Shem]

I'm going with Damian Lillard!

[Guy986]

Anthony Davis runs away with this.

He's going to be the face of the franchise from day zero, getting as many minutes as he wants.

[Guy986]

I'm a Charlotte fan and I voted for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist; this is no homerism as I think he will have the most impact as a rookie.

Davis might need a little time to adjust with his frame, aggressive defense and limited post moves.

Charlotte will not win many games this year but Gilchrist will stuff stat sheets and show people exactly how good he is, I am not claiming he will have a better career than Davis but I believe him to be more NBA ready and have more of an impact both offensively and defensively (in his rookie year)

The ESPN NBA Rookie Poll asked who is the best defender and Gilchrist got 28.6 percent of the vote compared to 14.3 percent to Davis.The rookies couldn't vote for themselves or college or pro teammates.

I optimistically expect 15/7/3/1/1 and some credibility for Charlotte.

Davis probably 12/9/1/2
Beal 14/5/2
Lillard 16/3/3
Valanciunas 12/7/1/1
Barnes 15/5/2
Robinson 14/9/1
Waiters 8/2/1
Drummond 4/4/1

15 ppg for mkg when he averaged less than 12 in college and couldnt shoot a lick? Really?
Its possible if they force feed him the ball.

15ppg on what percentage? 37%?

[Elden Payton]

There is no dispute that Gilchrist is unselfish and that is personified by his role on Kentucky.

The number two recruit in the nation averaged less than 8 FGA...12ppg on 8 FGA is great.

Box score watching tells nothing of the story, funnily enough Gilchrist fits the criteria you listd for Davis better than Davis...Davis will have to share shots with Gordon and Rivers while Gilchrist gets handed the keys to the franchise on his first day.

[Tave]

Do you guys really have such little faith in Mike Dunlap that you believe he's just going to green-light MKG to jack up whatever he feels like?

I agree that MKG has more offensive potential than what he showed us playing his role in UK's system, and it's not like the Bobcats are loaded with talent, but for Pete's sake Charlotte actually has NBA players on its roster that will get touches before MKG unless and until he proves himself.

On the flip side, why does everyone think Monty Williams is going to stick Davis in a corner and forget about him? Y'all don't think he'll want to incorporate him in the offense? Have you seen that kid play with Team USA? Any coach that doesn't try to abuse the P'n'R with him should be fired. And I like Rivers but I can see Davis w/ more touches and ppg no problem.

[Jase]

15 ppg for mkg when he averaged less than 12 in college and couldnt shoot a lick? Really?
Its possible if they force feed him the ball.

15ppg on what percentage? 37%?

This is a bunk argument. 12 ppg in college when he was on a team with a bunch of other guys trying to get numbers to improve their NBA stock. Who else is really going to score in CHA? He'll have ample opportunities. His shot might be shaky, but that's more the form than anything, and he'll have NBA coaches helping him on that. He showed us in the summer league that he can take the ball to the rim, too. I'm not saying he'll be a 20 ppg guy, but you're selling him short.

[Tave]

15 ppg for mkg when he averaged less than 12 in college and couldnt shoot a lick? Really?
Its possible if they force feed him the ball.

15ppg on what percentage? 37%?

This is a bunk argument. 12 ppg in college when he was on a team with a bunch of other guys trying to get numbers to improve their NBA stock. Who else is really going to score in CHA? He'll have ample opportunities. His shot might be shaky, but that's more the form than anything, and he'll have NBA coaches helping him on that. He showed us in the summer league that he can take the ball to the rim, too. I'm not saying he'll be a 20 ppg guy, but you're selling him short.

Who else will shoot? Henderson and Gordon for sure. Probably Walker as well, and if Mullens continues to improve I can see him as a 15 ppg threat.

Can't all those things you said regarding MKG's role at UK apply equally to Davis? Like I said, I'm a big fan of Rivers but it's not a given he'll get a ton of shots and even if he does, there will be plenty of points available after him and Gordon.

Davis sure looked NBA-ready to me in the Olympics, he's a better athlete than I realized and relentlessly attacks the basket.

[Parataxis]

Raptors fan, but I went with MKG.

He's a wing, he's on a team with no real star, and he's going to adapt to the NBA game well, I think.

I doubt he'll have the best career overall, but ROY is all about the starting gate.

[ComboGuardCity]

Davis. MKG is an excellent player but I think he's getting a bit hyped up after his one summer league game. His game is not first option on offense nor is it distributer. He will not be handed any keys.

[TheBigThree]

Davis should win this fairly handily.

Should be a good competition for runner up (yes, I know that's not a real thing) between MKG, Beal, Lillard and Barnes (IMO). Looking like this rookie class could have a serious impact.

[EvanZ]

Do you guys really have such little faith in Mike Dunlap that you believe he's just going to green-light MKG to jack up whatever he feels like?

MKG is a smart player. I don't see him jacking up shots. What I do see is someone who will get to the rim like a Stuckey or Tyreke, get tons of FTA, but won't shoot a ton of ill-advised long 2-pt jumpers.

[EvanZ]

Not that he has a chance of winning ROY, but I looooove John Henson. Dude can play. Game just looks like it comes easy to him.

[Jase]

15 ppg for mkg when he averaged less than 12 in college and couldnt shoot a lick? Really?
Its possible if they force feed him the ball.

15ppg on what percentage? 37%?

This is a bunk argument. 12 ppg in college when he was on a team with a bunch of other guys trying to get numbers to improve their NBA stock. Who else is really going to score in CHA? He'll have ample opportunities. His shot might be shaky, but that's more the form than anything, and he'll have NBA coaches helping him on that. He showed us in the summer league that he can take the ball to the rim, too. I'm not saying he'll be a 20 ppg guy, but you're selling him short.

Who else will shoot? Henderson and Gordon for sure. Probably Walker as well, and if Mullens continues to improve I can see him as a 15 ppg threat.

Can't all those things you said regarding MKG's role at UK apply equally to Davis? Like I said, I'm a big fan of Rivers but it's not a given he'll get a ton of shots and even if he does, there will be plenty of points available after him and Gordon.

Davis sure looked NBA-ready to me in the Olympics, he's a better athlete than I realized and relentlessly attacks the basket.

The three players you mentioned shot 44%, 46% and your buddy Walker shot an impressive 36% last year. Gordon hasn't been a great offensive player since leaving Chicago. So it's pointless to knock MKG for his shooting, or shooting percentage. Henderson and Gordon play the same position, and it's unlikely they're ever on the court at the same time (neither will likely play pg since they have Walker and Sessions). So, you have a shooting guard who will shoot, and what else? They're going to groom Walker into more of a distributor, or bench him for Sessions if he keeps shooting so poorly. Mullens shot 42%, which is terrible for a guy who is 7', 275 lbs. MKG has a chance to score often, and if he isn't efficient, then he'll fit in perfectly with that team.

IMHO, MKG has a very, very good chance to exceed his scoring avg in college. CHA doesn't have an offensive player who is the sure-fire, clear-cut #1 option.

[Elden Payton]

Do you guys really have such little faith in Mike Dunlap that you believe he's just going to green-light MKG to jack up whatever he feels like?

I agree that MKG has more offensive potential than what he showed us playing his role in UK's system, and it's not like the Bobcats are loaded with talent, but for Pete's sake Charlotte actually has NBA players on its roster that will get touches before MKG unless and until he proves himself.

On the flip side, why does everyone think Monty Williams is going to stick Davis in a corner and forget about him? Y'all don't think he'll want to incorporate him in the offense? Have you seen that kid play with Team USA? Any coach that doesn't try to abuse the P'n'R with him should be fired. And I like Rivers but I can see Davis w/ more touches and ppg no problem.

The Bobcats leader and glue guy is Gerald Henderson who publicly advocated for Charlotte to draft Gilchrist; Henderson has no problem being the second and eventual third option.

Contrary to popular belief both Sessions and Gordon will be coming off the bench this season and neither Mullens nor Biyombo will be getting more touches than Gilchrist; Kemba,Henderson and Gilchrist actually form a solid perimiter and should all get their fair share of shots.

It's no secret that Gilchrist is not a great shooter but to ignore everything else he does is foolish, the guy has a great first step, has an elite motor, rebounds like a mad man and is an elite finisher at the rim...this guy will score.

This is only summer league but watch him abuse Thomas Robinson and everyone else on the Kings.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4zyxvPfAao[/youtube]