And-Ones: NBA Awards, G League, Smith, York

For an entertaining piece about the process of NBA award voting, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype interviewed voters, players and PR staffers about some behind-the-scenes aspects of how awards are handed out at the conclusion of an NBA season.

Some of the more interesting tidbits include:

• Team PR representatives and agents will actually sometimes call a voter and argue for their respective player, coach, etc. by getting into details regarding stats, achievements, records, etc. They’ll also even point out flaws of other candidates.
• Voters generally put a lot of work into their voting process, as social media reprisal is a scary thing (the NBA publicizes the voters’ choices each season). This can be a double-edged sword – you want to hold each voter accountable but you also want voters to have the confidence to stray from the pack if they have a reasonable basis for doing so.
• Some more prominent writers choose not to vote for awards, as there is potential for blow-back from players, coaches, etc. they didn’t vote for, especially since the newest CBA essentially grants salary raises based on media votes.

The whole piece is worth a read. Below are some additional odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• The NBA has released a statement regarding the success of the G League’s development of players, reporting that a total of 52% of players on 2018/18 NBA end-of-season rosters played in the G League at some point.
• Per Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, G League guard Scoochie Smith has signed a contract with Peristeri BC of The Greek Basket League. Smith, 24, averaged 12.2 points and 6.3 assists per game for the Canton Charge during the 2018/19 season.
• Smith also passes along word of another overseas signing by a G League guard in Greece, with Gabe York of the Lakeland Magic joining AEK Basketball Club, also of The Greek Basket League. York averaged 16.4 PPG and 3.0 APG this past G League season.