All-Season Other Awards Discussion thread

[Doctor MJ]

As mentioned, for the first time we're planning to expand out this award process to include other awards. As with the POY, these will be All-Season, and so voting will occur after the Finals. Here are the proposed awards:

Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Most Improved Player
6th Man of the Year
Coach of the Year
Executive of the Year

Until the Voting thread(s) are made, these awards are in flux, as are details about them. The intent right now is to basically keep the original idea of the award intact, with the exception of the OPOY which is novel and will be essentially the counterpart to the DPOY. A couple notes on what this means to me so far:

-Expecting to have Top 3 voting for each of these awards, which I believe is how all awards do this right now except for EOY.

-There will be no unofficial disqualifications from the MIP award, as to me that makes the NBA's actual MIP award near worthless. Meaning this is still meant for up and coming players rather than comeback players, but we're not going to follow the same type of patterns that left us with Aaron Brooks winning this award over Kevin Durant in '09-10.

-With 6MOY in particular, I'm not intending at this point to put additional constraints on. However if say, people in this thread have an overwhelming desire to remove Rudy Gobert-types from this award (meaning, guys who weren't actually played as a "6th Man" and whose eligibility stems from GM trading tactics), we can. I'll be fine either way.

[ardee]

Slightly unrelated, but how likely is it that we could have retro OPOY/DPOY for the summer project?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Doctor MJ]

Slightly unrelated, but how likely is it that we could have retro OPOY/DPOY for the summer project?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

At this point I'm planning to hold off probably until next spring. We just got out of a Top 100 where beast had to drag us to the finish line. In my experience, when I make a big project too soon after that, it doesn't go well.

[HeartBreakKid]

My votes so far (btw, are we including post season for these awards as well?)


Offensive Player of the Year

1) Stephen Curry - I think he is definitely the best offensive player in the league. His God like shooting alone would put him in top 3, he just opens the floor up so much, and demands so much attention. The fact that he is one of the best passers and ball handelers pretty much seals the deal. His team success are nice labors of his success.

2) Chris Paul - Coincidentally anchors the 2nd best offense after the Warriors (for a while the #1). Considering Griffin and JJ Reddick are the only two good offensive players on the Clippers (including the Clips bench, which is awful), this is quite an accomplishment. He truly runs an offense like a quarterback, he leads the league in assist, hockey assist, he is the best mid-range shooter, best ball handler and he's putting up 19 points on 60 TS. If Curry wasn't the greatest shooter ever, CP3 would be an easy #1 choice.

3)James Harden - As of the RS, I like Harden's offensive game more than James. He leads the league in scoring while having 60 TS% (way above his main competition in Westbrook who is around the league average). He's basically the Rockets PG, having to handle the rock and utilize flashy but effective passes. Better drawing fouls and shooting the 3 than James/Westbrook, comparable at getting to the paint (even if he doesn't have the freaky dunks), way better at pick and roll than his competition. Considering the Rockets players aren't that talented on the offensive end, he's my pick here.

Defensive Player of the Year

1) Andrew Bogut - GSW is easily the best defense in the league, and I think Bogut may be the catalyst to it. He has an incredibly high defensive rating, and his ability to shut down the paint is pretty damn priceless. He's also an excellent man to man defender, giving other scoring bigs like Anthony Davis serious problems. I see why a lot of people go with Green, but my gut says Bogut is the best here.
2)Kawhi Leonard - Too bad he was hurt earlier in the season or he may be #1. He's a straight up lock down defender against 1-3 players, awesome help defender, the absolute best thief in the league despite being an SF, a godly rebounder - he might take the #1 spot if the post season counts.

3)Tim Duncan - I'll get flack for not having Green in my list, but I give an edge to Timmy here. I still think he was playing stellar defense this season, the Spurs just had some serious injuries which kinda let Duncan's effort go under-appreciated.


Rookie of the Year

1) Nerlens Noel - If I need a rookie on a rookie to go on a playoff team and make positive impact, it would likely be Nerlens. The Sixers are a bunch of d-league players, but they're an average defensive team (slightly above average for a while). Noel is absolutely atrocious on the offense end, but his defensive ability makes him a plus defender, as it is easy to mask centers who do not have offensive skill. His rebounding ability is increasing, but his 2nd jump and quick hands is what makes him a special defender.

2)Nikola Mirotic - He has no chance of ROY in real life because of the minutes played, but this guy can straight up ball. TBH, he might be better than Nerlens Noel - which makes sense as he is 24 years old. He really steps up even when the pressure is on or when the Bulls feel like they have no chance of winning. He has excellent poise and has demonstrated great leadership, it's a cliche statement but it applies to Nikola more than any rookie I've seen in years - "he doesn't look like a rookie out there".

3)Andrew Wiggins - Very high boxscore numbers, but his team is just awful on both sides of the court. He's certainly shown that if given some breathing space he can put the ball in the hoop, which makes him quite a bit more valuable than most of the other rookies (the ones who were healthy at least). His post game is a very nice surprise, and if he keeps working on that he'll be pretty special. I don't think he brings more to a winning team than Nerlens Noel or Nikola Mioritc would though - and his defense has been a disappointment (espeically in the first half of the season).


Most Improved Player

I don't really know how to judge this award still.


6th Man of the Year

Isaiah Thomas - Him shifting teams might get him lost in the shuffle, but the dude was a beast in Phoenix and still a beast in Boston. He' gonna finish the season with 16 points on 58%, and he averaged 20 points while for his time in Boston. He's pretty much the good version of overrated iso scorers like Jamal Crawford and JR Smith - better shooter, better at breaking down defenses, better at attacking the rim and drawing contact.


Coach of the Year

Jason Kidd - What he did with the Bucks is just amazing. This was a team that won 15 games last year, there were threads saying if prime Jordan was added to the Bucks would they be a winning team - and nearly everyone said hell no. Nothing from the Bucks really changed. They're still a team that is composed of either brand new raw players or journey men who are bouncing around other league's benches. Jason Kidd implemented both a stellar defense and a creative - pass friendly offense, on top of great in bound plays. Watching the Bucks play earlier in the season was a joy, the synergy they have is amazing, and it really seems to be mostly Kidd who is responsible for that change. It's a shame that they have went on a huge losing streak with the injuries and trading away BK, because it pretty much destroyed his already slim chance of winning COY.

Mike Budenholzer - He is probably the favorite to win the award this year. I thought the Hawks would be very good, I had them as the 3rd seed - but they are the #1 seed by almost 10 games and have a 60+ win season...no way I predicted that. Them going 17-0 was pretty special, and considering no one on their roster is close to a franchise player, it is pretty easy to see that the system is what makes the Hawks a championship contender.

Greg Popovich - Was debating between him and Hornacek and perhaps Kerr, but I think Greg deserves consideration again. It's boring giving Popovich COY credit every year, especially when the Spurs are having a down year, but it's pretty clear how much the injuries were holding him back. Popovich made another brilliant decision by making Leonard the new feature in the Spurs system - and it's working to such an effect that everyone is starting to think that the sixth seed is the sure favorite for the championship.

Executive of the Year

Stan Van Gundy - Considering what he had to work with, he's brought the Pistons up from the bottom feeding realms. If Brandon jennings doesn't go down, we would likely be looking at them in the playoffs. He got Reggie Jackson for basically nothing. He also made one of the guttiest moves by waiving Josh Smith, and it worked out wonders for the Pistons.

Danny Ainge - He managed to get rid of Rondo and Green and collect even more draft picks. He's made the most trades in the league, and as a result the Celtics are competing for the 8th spot. Rondo seemed to have been a cancer too, so I think he may have gotten the best out of Cuban (Rondo is gonna take up a lot of cap space also). I thought he made the right pick with picking Marcus Smart, though in hindsight there may have been some better options.


David Griffin - I'll give him credit for bringing James back home. On top of that, he aggressively pursued Kevin Love. The trade may or may not work out in the long run, but I think trading a known star for a prospect is a smart trade in Griffin's favor. He also saw the weaknesses to the Cavs roster in their lack of bigs and a cancer like Dion Waiters and got the right pieces to help. Mozgov, Shampurt and Smith weren't doing much before the trade, and now they're in the right place where they can shine at their roles.

[Doctor MJ]

I didn't want to inject my opinions too soon into this thread, but since it's lagging behind the other thread a bit, I figure I might as well:

OPOY: The big question for me here is how it will be separate from MVP. In principle the distinction is clear, in practice the same reasoning can be used for both: Harden has a great case based only on the numbers, Curry can get the nod if you weigh his role in team dominance heavy enough. My gut tells me to split the two awards...but I've always hated when the NFL does that.

DPOY: The big guy everyone is talking about right now, including me, is Kawhi Leonard. The big guy we were talking about before was Rudy Gobert. Both of these guys seem like they are "important" defensive players. Guys of outlier ability who at their best play at a level that is indisputably top tier. And both are guys who haven't played like that all year. Given that we'll have the playoffs to make decisions about things, if Kawhi dominates all through to a championship, I expect he'll take this award. Right now though, I'd still have to go with Draymond Green. Very interested to see if Green will continue to be as effective against playoff offenses with playoff strategy and focus.

ROY: To me perhaps the most interesting award, and often the most maddening. In essence: The issue with the award is that it gets determined by an extremely naive sense of who the best rookie is, but there are actually patterns behind it that are pretty intricate. So in this case, Wiggins sure seems like a lock to win the NBA's award based on him being a hyped #1 draft pick who scored more than any other rookie. How should a more refined analyst rate this?

Well Wiggins vs Mirotic, to me Wiggins has a legit case based on ROY being fundamentally about the most exciting player of the future given that Mitotic is considerably older and had his success by being to fit in to a healthy team.

Mirotic vs Wiggins or Noel, you can clearly argue Mirotic is simply the best player.

I feel like I'm inclined to go with Noel based on a combination of these things. While I doubt that Mirotic will end up the best player of the bunch, I could easily see Noel getting that above Wiggins, and Noel is doing things right now that can be talked about as star-level, whereas Wiggins really can only do that on particular highlight reel plays.

MIP: This was one of the few I put a rule in beyond the NBA's criteria, so I don't want people to feel at all limited. My initial thought is that it's Gobert who made the big leap this year. He's the guy who wasn't on my radar, and who now is among the most exciting young players in all the game. His 9 point PER improvement is also a staggering leap. Interestingly, I feel like Jimmy Butler will get the award, but by season's end, I"m more excited about Gobert's future than Butler's.

As I say all this though, there's Hassan Whiteside to consider. Personally the half-a-season aspect of his play to me moves him below the other guys, but maybe my mind can be changed.

6MOY: I'll be curious what my brethren here think. I get the impression that Andre Iguodala isn't even on most folks radar here, but he's the first guy to come to mind to me: He's on the best team in the league, and he's a TRUE 6th man. Meaning, he's a guy who is better than the guy who starts over him, and he's been moved to the bench to help balance the team out. Whenever I see a guy like that it's hard for him to not be worthy of the award to me. I don't like the idea of giving the award to Gobert, because it's just a fluke he's eligible. I don't like the idea of giving the award to Thomas, because he's literally his team's first scoring option and him starting on the bench thus isn't really a strategy for winning as much as it is a team striking a balance between the present and the future.

COY: Well right now it's between Bud & Kerr obviously. I've been in various debates on the matter, but clearly the playoffs will say a good deal about this. I'll also say that if the Spurs bulldoze everyone in the playoffs, Pop will probably get my vote in the end.

EOY: Now, this is an interesting one. I'm very open on this but the thing that has struck me all year is that I'm much more impressed with Golden State in essence betting Klay Thompson over Kevin Love based on a conclusion of coaching incompetence than I am with Cleveland "getting" LeBron. Obviously if the Cavs' GM whispered in LeBron's ear and made this all happen he should win EOY, but if as it seems the GM had very little to do with LeBron's choice, well, then to me he shouldn't even get mentioned here.

I totally understand a rebuttal on GS that says that this was too minor of a think to get EOY, and I may end up agreeing with you. I just know I'm always particularly impressed when people do things I'd advise against, and then they turn out to be right. Most of the good moves GMs in the NBA made this year, I could have told them to do it. But I thought the Warriors were crazy to pass up on the chance to get Love, and I have to admit I was wrong. And to be clear: This isn't some overreaction to Love in Cleveland, it's about seeing how smooth a team the Warriors could be with their current players. I thought another coach could do better than Jackson, but the Warriors surpassed my ceiling for them pretty easily.

[bondom34]

I'm not really in the mood for great explanation just yet, but some of my top guys:

OPOY: Harden, Curry, WB
DPOY: Leonard, Gobert
ROY: Noel or Mirotic
COY: Kerr, Bud, and heck, keep Pop in there
EOY: This is tough. I'm leaning GSW, but can be talked out of it.

Edit: Forgot..

6MOY: I have no clue. I have like 5-10 guys I can see getting votes including IT, Iggy, Lou Will, and my homer vote Morrow.

MIP: Likely Butler, though Giannis deserves some credit.

[SactoKingsFan]

OPOY: Harden, Curry
DPOY: Green, Leonard
ROY: Mirotic, Noel
6MOY: ?
MIP: Gobert, Butler, Green
COY: Kerr
EOY: ?

Will explain later.

[Ballerhogger]

OPOY I'll give to Curry
DPOY I'll give to DeAndre Jordan
ROY Andrew Wiggins will get the nod
6M0Y Mirotic
MIP Butler
COY Bud since I think Kerr basically took.over a playoff.team. while the Hawks were just a treadmill team .
EOY Cavs David Griffin. Great mid way season trades. I'm pretty.sure he was making the calls here. He gave lebron everything they need to win a championship. Saved the Cavs season with the mosgov trade and jr,Shumpert trades

[PaulieWal]

OPOY: Curry
DPOY: Green, Leonard, Bogut, Gobert,
ROY: Wiggins or Mirotic
6MOY: Lou Williams
MIP: Butler, Thompson, Whiteside
COY: Burr or Pop or Kerr
EOY: GSW or Cavs

I will explain these later when I have more time.

[nurseryc]

OPOY: Curry

DPOY: Bogut - first in the NBA in defensive plus-minus (plus-5.64), first in individual defensive rating (95.9) and second among centers in opponent's field-goal percentage at the rim

ROY: Wiggins

6MOY: Lou Williams

MIP: Whiteside

COY: Pop

EOY: GSW

[Kendrick Lamar]

OPOY: Curry/Harden/Paul
DPOY: Dray/Leonard/Gobert
ROY: Wiggins/Noel/Mirotic
6MOY: Williams/Thomas/AI
COY: Pop/Bud/Kerr
EOY: David Griffin

Explanations to follow later. COY and DPOY were probably the toughest. GSW didn't seem to miss a beat without Bogut for a couple games. Duncan kept the Spurs defense in the top 10 without Kawhi but it's smothering teams with him back.

[E-Balla]

Offensive Player of the Year - Chef Curry is basically on his own this year but Harden is a distant second

Defensive Player of the Year - Draymond Green has the lead for me right now but there's a ton of others closely behind (one even on his team)

Rookie of the Year - Nerlens Noel was obviously going to be my pick

Most Improved Player - Jimmy Butler. Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis are probably fighting for second here

6th Man of the Year - Wanted to pick Lou Will mainly because of the song 6man but Isaiah easily wins this one

Coach of the Year - Easy pick again. Jason Kidd has led Milwaukee to the playoffs after they won 17 games last year with the exact same roster

Executive of the Year - Tough one. I don't want to give it to Griffin because it kind of fell into his lap. Still his mid season trades for Shump, Smith, and Mosgov were very important and it was a good deal. Myers might deserve it for not pulling the trigger on Love and most importantly getting rid of Mark Jackson but those moves aren't moves you'd usually think about or give credit to a GM for. Personally my favorite might be a guy whose team got way worse: Pat Riley. He got Wade on a nice deal (31 mil, 2 years), Deng on a great deal (2 years, 20 mil), McBob on a decent deal, made the best signing of the season locking Whiteside into a 2 year deal where he's making under 1 mil both years (he currently has a 26 PER), and put himself a step ahead of everyone else in the Dragic sweepstakes. Problem is he made a high volume of moves that could cripple the Heat if one thing goes wrong. Bosh was signed to a max contract he clearly doesn't deserve, and they gave up 3 first round picks for Dragic. If Bosh can't find his old game and Dragic leaves or can't return to his 2014 form next to Wade, Pat put Miami in a bad situation. On the other hand Miami could have a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/GOATside lineup with McBob, Rio, and Billy Walker already on the bench and the chance to sign a real 6th man big with the MLE. Hard to choose here.

[PaulieWal]

Personally my favorite might be a guy whose team got way worse: Pat Riley. He got Wade on a nice deal (31 mil, 2 years), Deng on a great deal (2 years, 20 mil), McBob on a decent deal, made the best signing of the season locking Whiteside into a 2 year deal where he's making under 1 mil both years (he currently has a 26 PER), and put himself a step ahead of everyone else in the Dragic sweepstakes. Problem is he made a high volume of moves that could cripple the Heat if one thing goes wrong. Bosh was signed to a max contract he clearly doesn't deserve, and they gave up 3 first round picks for Dragic. If Bosh can't find his old game and Dragic leaves or can't return to his 2014 form next to Wade, Pat put Miami in a bad situation. On the other hand Miami could have a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/GOATside lineup with McBob, Rio, and Billy Walker already on the bench and the chance to sign a real 6th man big with the MLE. Hard to choose here.

Just a few corrections:

Miami gave up 2 first rounders for Dragic, not 3. The first one is top 7 protected so it kinda protects Miami if they have to go full tank-mode and the second one is unprotected in 2021 which is kinda risky. The Bosh deal is not going to look bad when the cap rises and Miami just couldn't lose him either as HOuston was prepared to give him a 4 year max offer. His hands were pretty much tied after LeBron left.

I do think Dragic will stay and there must have been some under the table deal (like Love with Cavs IMO) between him and the Miami FO.

Riley and the Miami FO have been planning for the 2016 free agency and the way the contracts are supposed to line-up the only players on the books are supposed to be Bosh, McBob, and now Dragic if he stays.

All of this being said I don't think Riley deserves serious consideration here. Miami did lose LeBron and the team's health has failed him. If Miami bounces back next year with health and a good draft pick he can be a serious candidate then.

[E-Balla]

Personally my favorite might be a guy whose team got way worse: Pat Riley. He got Wade on a nice deal (31 mil, 2 years), Deng on a great deal (2 years, 20 mil), McBob on a decent deal, made the best signing of the season locking Whiteside into a 2 year deal where he's making under 1 mil both years (he currently has a 26 PER), and put himself a step ahead of everyone else in the Dragic sweepstakes. Problem is he made a high volume of moves that could cripple the Heat if one thing goes wrong. Bosh was signed to a max contract he clearly doesn't deserve, and they gave up 3 first round picks for Dragic. If Bosh can't find his old game and Dragic leaves or can't return to his 2014 form next to Wade, Pat put Miami in a bad situation. On the other hand Miami could have a Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/GOATside lineup with McBob, Rio, and Billy Walker already on the bench and the chance to sign a real 6th man big with the MLE. Hard to choose here.

Just a few corrections:

Miami gave up 2 first rounders for Dragic, not 3. The first one is top 7 protected so it kinda protects Miami if they have to go full tank-mode and the second one is unprotected in 2021 which is kinda risky. The Bosh deal is not going to look bad when the cap rises and Miami just couldn't lose him either as HOuston was prepared to give him a 4 year max offer. His hands were pretty much tied after LeBron left.

I do think Dragic will stay and there must have been some under the table deal (like Love with Cavs IMO) between him and the Miami FO.

Riley and the Miami FO have been planning for the 2016 free agency and the way the contracts are supposed to line-up the only players on the books are supposed to be Bosh, McBob, and now Dragic if he stays.

All of this being said I don't think Riley deserves serious consideration here. Miami did lose LeBron and the team's health has failed him. If Miami bounces back next year with health and a good draft pick he can be a serious candidate then.

Well the question is can you blame him for losing Lebron? I mean realistically other than winning the 2014 Finals (and that might've not worked) there was nothing he could do to keep Lebron and he has his team in a position to still make the playoffs and possibly win 50 games when healthy even after losing Lebron. Wasn't expecting many to agree with me but he doesn't have much competition this year.

[PaulieWal]

Well the question is can you blame him for losing Lebron? I mean realistically other than winning the 2014 Finals (and that might've not worked) there was nothing he could do to keep Lebron and he has his team in a position to still make the playoffs and possibly win 50 games when healthy even after losing Lebron. Wasn't expecting many to agree with me but he doesn't have much competition this year.

Oh no, I don't blame him at all for losing LeBron. Don't think I gave that impression but still I absolutely do not blame him to be clear.

You know I am a Miami guy but as much as I would like to see him win it, it's just hard to make a case when the team is not even making the playoffs. That's why I said he's taken a gamble on a few things and if healthy next year Miami could be a top 4 team in the East and his candidacy could become more viable next year. I do like a core of Dragic/Bosh/Whiteside/Wade and a solid bench. If Miami can retain its pick and nail that the team will get some much needed luck after a horrible year of heath.

But by all means if you feel like voting for him go ahead .

[Texas Chuck]

It pains me to say this as a Mavs guy--and a guy who has long defended Rondo--but I think the Rondo deal eliminates what should have been a top contender for EOY in Donnie Nelson. Consider that the Mavs didn't have a 1st round pick and had no assets other than cap space and managed to add Tyson Chandler and Chandler Parsons along with a whole slew of smart minimum signings led by Al-Farouq Aminu(how did this 23 year old sign for the minimum?). Even with the PG issues to start the year, the team was humming along winning with offense and Tyson doing his one-man gang on defense and rebounding.

But its clear the Rondo deal was a bust for this year. Team improved in some areas it needed to improve in, but overall it just messed everything up.

So with my mid-season frontrunner(and slight homer pick) out I'd consider Ainge for compiling assets while staying somewhat competiitve or Buford(hey we've been the best team for 2 years running--why not just bring back the entire team and draft some kid?--very underrated to just not mess with success). I get Buford will get no love because the sexy moves like Cleveland made are what win this, but Buford belongs imo.

[Texas Chuck]

COY for me is Bud. I love the job Kidd has done. Pop and Kerr certainly deserve some credit, but I look at the Hawks and while they have some good players, they are just so well coached on both ends. They are doing a poor man's version of the Warriors in terms of being really strong at both ends, but they don't have an MVP, or 2 serious DPOY candidates, or Doc even mentioned Iggy as 6MOY.

This one isn't that close for me. I'd take Coach Bud.

[Texas Chuck]

6MOY for me comes down to Lou Williams, Isaiah Thomas(will changing teams kill his chances?), and Taj Gibson.

I think Thomas should win the award. He embodies the idea of the classic 6th man from Microwave to Eddie Johnson to JET to Jamal only with a great deal more efficiency than 6th men normally have. I have no problem with him being a top offensive option on the Celtics as other winners have been main options as well. Gibson is getting overlooked again as people are excited about Mirotic, but he's just such a good player defensively and not bad offensively.

[Texas Chuck]

I'd take Noel for ROY. Mirotic just hasn't really been that good all year or that consistent. He's had some big games the 2nd half that are standing out in people's minds, but I'd have him behind Wiggins and Payton at least.

[HeartBreakKid]

I think IT changing teams does hurt his chances of winning 6MOY, he seems to be better than other offensive burst 6th mans like Crawford and Smiths of the world.

I feel like every Bulls game I saw Taj Gibson was injured this year. I'm surprised he played 60 games.

I would vote for Taj Gibson. I feel bad for him though, after last year, there is probably no way he wins the award. Last year he was such an easy 6th man for me, certainly much better than Jamal Crawford.