Biggest Takeaways from NBA's General Manager Survey for 2014-15 Season
The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are finally going to capture the elusive repeat, at least according to the league's general managers. It's one of several key predictions made by the group ahead of the 2014-15 season.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com passed along the results of the annual survey. Other notable results include the Cleveland Cavaliers emerging as the top choice in the Eastern Conference following the return of LeBron James, and Kevin Durant relinquishing the MVP crown back to King James.
San Antonio had four previous chances to repeat as champions since 1999. It came up short each time, illustrating the difficulty of the accomplishment. The Spurs return the entire group from last year's title run, and the general managers like their chances.
Here's a breakdown of the top championship picks:
| 1 | San Antonio Spurs | 46.2 |
| 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 15.4 |
| T-3 | Chicago Bulls | 11.5 |
| T-3 | Los Angeles Clippers | 11.5 |
| T-3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 11.5 |
| 6 | Golden State Warriors | 3.8 |
Schuhmann notes general managers were not allowed to vote for their own team, players or personnel as part of the process.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder were voted as the most likely team to dethrone the Spurs with nearly 30 percent of GMs picking them to advance to the Finals. The Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors followed.
They see the East as a two-team race between the Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. Those teams combined to get more than 96 percent of the vote, with Cleveland leading at 70 percent. The Washington Wizards were the only other team to get votes.
Along with signing James to pair with Kyrie Irving, the Cavs also acquired Kevin Love to give themselves their own "Big Three." The general managers think Cleveland can quickly get all the pieces to fit together to become an immediate title contender.
Like the East, the race for MVP was also narrowed to two main counterparts. To nobody's surprise it was James and Durant. The four-time winner of the league's top individual honor was chosen by just under 68 percent of the voters.
James was also voted as the player general managers would most like to start a franchise with if the league was reset today. Durant and New Orleans Pelicans interior force Anthony Davis split the remaining votes.
The general managers also picked the top player at each position. Here's a look at what their starting lineup would look like:
| PG | Chris Paul | Clippers |
| SG | James Harden | Rockets |
| SF | LeBron James | Cavaliers |
| PF (Tie) | LaMarcus Aldridge | Trail Blazers |
| PF (Tie) | Blake Griffin | Clippers |
| C | Dwight Howard | Rockets |
Of note, Kobe Bryant finished third in the voting at shooting guard behind Harden and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. Don't expect him to use it as motivation, though.
Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com provided comments from the longtime star after being ranked as the 40th-best player in the league by the outlet last week. The veteran is just worried about staying healthy at this point.
"Honestly, all jokes aside," Bryant said, "it really doesn't bother me too much. I'm going to do what I do regardless. God willing, I can stay healthy, and if I wind up proving a lot of people wrong in the process, that will just wind up being collateral damage."
In terms of rookies, the general managers are most bullish about Jabari Parker.
The Duke product figures to take on a key role for the Milwaukee Bucks right out of the gate. He was selected as the likely Rookie of the Year with 75 percent of the vote. In five years, the GMs still have him on top, but with a far more narrow margin over Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Joakim Noah of the Bulls was voted the league's best defender, edging James, Dwight Howard and Serge Ibaka.
Finally, there were five questions asked about current head coaches covering just about every area of their job. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich finished first in four of out the five votes, including best overall coach, and second in the other (defense, behind Chicago's Tom Thibodeau).
Schuhmann provided an additional note about the coach results:
A total of 56 questions were answered by the general managers. Most follow the general line of thinking ahead of the campaign, but things are sure to change as injuries strike and players emerge.
Unsurprisingly, it seems most of the focus will be on the Spurs and James' Cavs for the majority of the year. Another meeting next June would represent the fourth time in nine seasons the league's top player met its best overall team for the title, dating back to his first stint in Cleveland.
