Author: Hoops Rumors

While the NBA won’t announce this year’s award winners until late in June, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards over the next two weeks.

The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our choices below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re kicking things off today with the award for Executive of the Year. Here are our selections:

Clark Crum: Kevin Pritchard (Pacers)
Count me in as one of the many who believed the Thunder fleeced the Pacers last summer when they traded for Paul George and only got Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in return. George, 27, was a perennial All-Star and widely thought of as being one of the best two-way players in the NBA, while Oladipo, 25, had largely underperformed as a former No. 2 overall pick and Sabonis, 21, was still unproven.

Fast-forward 10 months later and Pritchard has made all of us doubters look like fools, as Oladipo was named an All-Star and largely outperformed George during the 2017/18 campaign, while Sabonis averaged 17.5 PPG in Indiana’s last four playoff games against the Cavaliers. Throw in the team-friendly offseason signings of starters Darren Collison and Bojan Bogdanovic – whose non-guaranteed contracts for next season combined total only $20.5MM – and the trade for sixth-man Cory Joseph while giving up essentially nothing in return, and you end up with a team that improved its win total by six games after trading away its franchise cornerstone.

Dana Gauruder: Dennis Lindsey (Jazz)
Losing your best player in free agency usually sets back a franchise for years. The Jazz should have been an also-ran when Gordon Hayward bolted. Instead, Lindsey solved their long-standing point guard issue and made them a playoff team. Trading up for Donovan Mitchell turned out to be a master stroke and Ricky Rubio bridged the gap to the Mitchell era.

Austin Kent: Kevin Pritchard (Pacers)
The 2017/18 Pacers were a breath of fresh air in a barely habitable runaway tankathon and that’s why Pritchard gets my pick for Executive of the Year. Rather than kowtow to the presumed fate of small-market teams destined to lose a franchise player, Pritchard wheeled Paul George to Oklahoma City for an intriguing young big man and an underwhelming former No. 2 pick. We didn’t know it then, but Pritchard had a meaningful plan to continue competing despite the setback. Rather than pass the buck and settle for the safe choice of an ambiguous future draft choice, Pritchard brought home tangible assets. The gamble on Victor Oladipo was a massive success — if he isn’t already as capable as George ever was in a Pacers jersey, he’s definitely more marketable. Domantas Sabonis, on the precipice of his 22nd birthday, looks every bit as promising as he did during his rookie season.

Pritchard didn’t settle there. Even if you chalk the George deal up to a pleasant surprise, the freshly-minted executive doubled down on the strategy to fill the team’s roster with capable adult basketball players. Crazy, right? The acquisition of Cory Joseph was shrewd and the signings of Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison reinforce the notion that the man at the helm in Indianapolis has had a singular plan all along: while half the NBA zigs their way to uninspired combinations of current and former superstars and the other zags their way into the sub-20-win cellar, the Pacers barrelled down the middle.

Arthur Hill: Danny Ainge (Celtics)
Not only did he win the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes and get Kyrie Irving from the Cavaliers, Ainge pulled off a spectacular draft-related trade that looks better with each passing day. Instead of making the safe move by taking Markelle Fultz with the top pick, Ainge sent it to Philadelphia in exchange for the No. 3 choice, which brought Jayson Tatum, and a future first-rounder, which will probably be Sacramento’s in 2019. The Celtics could have been the No. 1 seed in the East if not for injuries to Hayward and Irving, and they still have the ammunition to trade for a star like Kawhi Leonard if he becomes available, giving Ainge a shot to win this award again next year.

Chris Crouse: Daryl Morey (Rockets)
This season’s Executive of the Year’s race was Morey’s to lose ever since he crafted the deal to bring Chris Paul to Houston. The Rockets headed into the 2017 offseason as an over-the-cap team, meaning they had to adhere to salary-matching rules in trades. The problem was that the Rockets had so much of their cap tied up in cap holds, rather than players under contract, that they couldn’t get to Paul’s $24.2MM figure without being creative.

Luke Adams: Danny Ainge (Celtics)
Ainge has taken plenty of criticism over the years for his apparent reluctance to roll the dice on potential blockbuster trades, but his 2017/18 moves vindicated that approach in spades. In signing Gordon Hayward, trading for Kyrie Irving, and flipping the No. 1 overall pick, Ainge swung for the fences to greater effect than than he ever did during his baseball days. The decision to hang onto young players like Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier also paid off in a major way for Ainge and the Celtics, who saw those youngsters – along with Jayson Tatum – enjoy breakout seasons. Under-the-radar additions like Shane Larkin and Daniel Theis were just the icing on the cake.

Who is your pick for Executive of the Year? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comment section below!

Up next: Coach of the Year.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re wrapping things up today with the award for Most Valuable Player. Here are our picks:

Arthur Hill: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
This has a chance to be one of the closest MVP votes ever. Westbrook and James Harden both turned in extraordinary seasons, and either could be a runaway winner in a normal year. The case for Harden is that the Rockets won more games than the Thunder (55 to 47) and Harden was more efficient. He led the league with 11.2 assists per game while averaging 29.1 points. His True Shooting numbers were better than Westbrook’s and he put up his numbers in fewer possessions. However, by averaging a triple double, Westbrook did something that hasn’t been accomplished in 55 seasons. He also displayed his value in the offseason, agreeing to an extension when it looked like the Thunder might crumble after losing Kevin Durant. Harden’s season was special, but Westbrook’s was historic. He’s the real MVP.

Austin Kent: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
I wasn’t entirely convinced that I would tip my hat in Westbrook’s direction until the final weeks of the season. At the end of the day however, there were three things that, together, made giving the award to anybody else troublesome. Had Westbrook only averaged a triple-double, I would have easily been able to justify giving the award to Harden, but he did so while also leading the league in scoring and minimizing the win differential between the two teams to just eight games.

The Rockets were a better team this season and Harden has been a certifiably MVP-worthy candidate, but Westbrook obliterating league history is more deserving of recognition. Even if Westbrook has a tendency to chase stats, is fortunate enough to play with big men who aren’t afraid to defer rebounds, and still barely topped a record set by somebody who didn’t even know he was setting a record in the first place, what he did is among the most impressive things our generation will ever see on a basketball court. Seriously, with the exception of a hypothetically stat-crazed Miami Heat-era LeBron James, I can’t think of a single player in the last 20 years who could pull off Westbrook’s accomplishment even if they were, like Westbrook, hellbent on doing exactly that.

We had a handful of players who made valid cases for the MVP award this year — that part isn’t up for debate. I’ve just decided to give the nod to the one who managed to make his case while simultaneously pulling off a feat that five years ago was virtually unimaginable.

Chris Crouse: Kawhi Leonard (Spurs)
Picking an MVP this year means splitting hairs. All are deserving, though only one can get the top vote. LeBron is the best player in the world, but his defense slipped this season and his numbers weren’t as impressive as some of the other candidates. Harden nearly averaged a triple-double, but he was overshadowed by Westbrook, who accomplished the feat.

Westbrook put up unbelievable stats, though it begs the question: is one star more valuable than another because of opportunity? His historic usage percentage (41.7%) allowed him to put up historic numbers. Westbrook took nearly 2,000 shots this year. Harden took 1,533, while James and Leonard put up roughly 1,300 apiece. Westbrook basically did what Drew Brees has been doing in the NFL over the last several seasons: achieve major statistical milestones as a result of opportunity without elevating his team to greatness. Brees hasn’t won the MVP award because voters realize it’s a passing league, and with the NBA trending toward high-pace-and-space style offenses, I think we’ll find that tremendous stats will become the new normal in this league.

Leonard didn’t put up gaudy stat lines as frequently as the other candidates, but he didn’t cost his team as many possessions either. Leonard had only 154 turnovers on the season. Westbrook gave the ball to the other team 438 times. Harden did it a league-worst 464 times. LBJ had 303 turnovers himself. And it’s not like Leonard had the ball that much less than some of the other candidates (Leonard had a 31.1 usage percentage, while Harden had 34.2 and James had 30.0). Having also factored in Leonard’s efficiency, Win Shares (he’s second in the league in WS per 48 minutes behind only Kevin Durant) and suffocating defense, I have to go with the San Antonio star in this extremely tight race for MVP.

Dana Gauruder: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
I can’t fault anyone who favors Harden. He also had a spectacular season after changing his role. What Westbrook did – averaging a triple-double – is mind-boggling in an era where star players routinely take nights off. The Thunder needed him to dominate virtually every night to make the playoffs and he delivered.

Luke Adams: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
A common argument in the case for Harden over Westbrook is the fact that the Rockets exceeded their expectations in 2016/17 by a greater margin than the Thunder did. That’s true, but that’s only because expectations for Westbrook in Oklahoma City’s post-Durant era were sky high. We expected Westbrook to go on a rampage and put up massive numbers like he did during Durant’s absence in 2014/15 — we weren’t sure what to expect from Harden and the Rockets after a disastrous 2015/16 season.

The fact that Westbrook still managed to exceed our expectations this season is one reason why he deserves the Most Valuable Player award. He also made huge shots in clutch situations time after time, and managed to carry a roster that was dead-last in the NBA in outside shooting (.327 3PT%, including .321 for players besides Westbrook) to a No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. And, yeah, he averaged a triple-double too. Incredible seasons from Harden, Leonard, and LeBron made this decision a brutal one, but Westbrook deserves the MVP nod for a singular performance that we’ll remember for years to come.

Who is your pick for Most Valuable Player? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year
April 14: Coach of the Year
April 17: Most Improved Player
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re keeping things going today with the award for Rookie of the Year. Here are our picks:

Chris Crouse: Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
As a Philadelphia resident, I wanted to go with Joel Embiid. He’s clearly the most talented player in the rookie class and he was running away with this award while only playing half of the Sixers’ back-to-backs. However, a knee injury ended his season, limiting the big man to only 31 games and a total of 786 minutes. How many minutes would have been enough to win the award? 1,000? 1,500? I’m not sure, but part of being considered the best of the year is being available and the Cameroon native wasn’t.

Brogdon was there for a Milwaukee team that needed a contributor. He gave coach Jason Kidd a solid defender and a player who could be counted on. Dario Saric had a slightly higher scoring average, but he wasn’t nearly as efficient as the Virginia product and he didn’t help to elevate his team as Brogdon did with the Bucks. Brogdon’s 4.1 Win Shares is by far tops among all rookies (Willy Hernangomez was the only other rookie above 3.0). Despite having two local candidates, I can’t argue with The President’s numbers; he gets my vote.

Austin Kent: Joel Embiid (Sixers)
The efficiency and off-court high jinks are just two components of what makes Joel Embiid so special. A third component – and in my opinion the most important one – is the immediate impact he had on a Sixers culture that was so deep in the basement they may as well have been relegated to the D-League. Embiid stepped on the court in October and changed all that overnight. This isn’t a byproduct of desperation, wishful thinking, or confirmation bias — nobody here had anything resembling high hopes for the man who seemed easily more myth than reality, a borderline punchline before he’d even set foot on the court.

I like that Brogdon is a contributing role player on a playoff team and that Saric proved he can fill the stat sheet when half the Philly roster is away on sabbatical, but to me the Rookie of the Year award serves as a way of flagging the most exciting of the league’s latest batch of fresh faces. I’m not going to hold the fact that a company with no rational incentive to start risking a years-long process chose to play it safe and shut its best asset down prematurely.

Dana Gauruder: Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
If Embiid had played at least half the Sixers’ games, this would be a no-brainer. Saric put up good numbers on a bad team. Brogdon was a huge surprise, contributing right away and helping the Bucks get through the first half of the season without Khris Middleton.

Arthur Hill: Joel Embiid (Sixers)
The only argument to make against Embiid winning the award is that a cautious Sixers medical staff limited him to 31 games. Otherwise, he was the best scorer, rebounder, shot blocker and overall defender in his rookie class. Embiid’s numbers – 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game – tower over the field before taking into account that they were achieved on a minutes restriction. Adjust those on a 36-minute basis and they become 28.7, 11.1 and 3.5 — good enough to be considered for MVP, not just Rookie of the Year. Although it would be unprecedented to give a trophy to someone who played less than half a season, I’ll take 31 games of excellence over anyone else in the field.

Luke Adams: Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
A first-half Rookie of the Year award for Embiid and a second-half trophy for Saric would probably make the most sense, but since Rookie of the Year is a full-season award, Brogdon’s consistency and durability give him the edge. While he may not turn into as impressive a pro down the road as Embiid or Saric, Brogdon’s ability to step into a regular rotation role for a playoff team and hold his own (10.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, .404 3PT%) makes him a worthy – albeit not particularly flashy – Rookie of the Year winner.

Who is your pick for Rookie of the Year? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year
April 14: Coach of the Year
April 17: Most Improved Player
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year

Still to come:
April 21: Most Valuable Player

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re keeping things going today with the award for Sixth Man of the Year. Here are our picks:

Chris Crouse: Lou Williams (Lakers/Rockets)
The league’s MVP may be the only award race that’s tighter than the Sixth Man of the Year’s. Eric Gordon had an excellent debut season before cooling off in the second half. James Johnson breathed life into Miami after the team was decimated by injuries. Andre Iguodala held down the second unit of 67-win team. Zach Randolph gave the Grizzlies firepower off the bench where they didn’t have very much else to count on.

Yet, Williams stands out. The 2014/15 Sixth Man of the Year scored 17.5 PPG this season while sporting a career-high 21.4 PER. He had a true shooting percentage of .609 during his 58 games in Los Angeles. His numbers dipped after he was sent to the Rockets at the trade deadline, but he remained a key contributor in Houston, scoring the second-most points per game on the team after the All-Star break. There were plenty of great options off the bench this season, but Williams gets my vote for the best of the bunch.

Dana Gauruder: Lou Williams (Lakers/Rockets)
Williams was so effective off the bench for the going-nowhere Lakers that he got himself traded to a contender. He’s been in the league since 2005/06 and averaged a career high 17.5 points. Williams’ perimeter shooting cooled off after joining the Rockets but he makes them that much more dangerous in the postseason.

Arthur Hill: Eric Gordon (Rockets)
Ever since James Harden arrived in Houston, the Rockets have struggled to score when he’s not in the game. The franchise has been searching for years for a guard who can put pressure on opposing defenses while Harden is resting. They struck gold last summer when Gordon agreed to a four-year, $53MM deal. Gordon shook off his long history of injuries and played 75 games, the most since his rookie season, while averaging 16.3 points per night and shooting 37% from 3-point range. His stats alone make him worthy of the Sixth Man award, but his impact on the Rockets has been even greater.

Luke Adams: James Johnson (Heat)
Players like Williams and Gordon fit the mold of a traditional Sixth Man of the Year as second-unit scorers capable of changing games and single-handedly keeping an offense afloat when the starters get some rest. But Johnson’s all-around play on both ends of the floor was game-changing during the Heat’s 30-11 second-half run.

Always an intriguing part-time player, Johnson finally put it all together this season in Miami, scoring (12.8 PPG), passing (3.6 APG), and shooting (.341 FG%) at career-best rates. Most impressively, he showed the ability to guard virtually anyone on an opponent’s roster, one through five, averaging more than a block and a steal per game while maintaining that invaluable versatility.

Austin Kent: Zach Randolph (Grizzlies)
The decision to bump 35-year-old Randolph to the second unit paid off for the Grizzlies and the veteran’s 15th NBA season will go down as one of his most efficient on a per-minute basis. In just over 24 minutes per game, Randolph averaged 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, all while playing a vital role in keeping Memphis in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Sure, Z-Bo isn’t doing anything he hasn’t already done for ages, but the fact that he’s now doing it off the pine makes him the scariest bench player in the game. His stats are comparable with any other elite reserve, his team is a winner, and he’s the only backup that’s obviously more intimidating to check than the guy who starts ahead of him.

Who is your pick for Sixth Man of the Year? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year
April 14: Coach of the Year
April 17: Most Improved Player

Still to come:
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year
April 21: Most Valuable Player

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re keeping things going today with the award for Most Improved Player. Here are our picks:

Arthur Hill: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Antetokounmpo showed the nation on Saturday what Bucks fans have been watching all season. His 28 points and eight rebounds only told part of the story of his Game 1 dominance against Toronto. Already pegged as a future star before the season began, Antetokounmpo increased his scoring average by six points per game to 22.9 and raised his rebound (8.7) and assist (5.4) averages significantly over last year. He was also the Bucks’ leader in steals and blocks, making him the only player this season to lead his team in all five categories. Antetokounmpo may be a future MVP and is a clear choice for Most Improved.

Luke Adams: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
While Antetokounmpo’s leap from star to superstar was thrilling to watch and Rudy Gobert‘s improved offensive play took his game to another level, Jokic is my pick for making the jump from solid rotation player to one of the NBA’s best big men. After being inserted into the starting lineup permanently in mid-December, Jokic averaged an eye-popping 19.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 5.8 APG in 51 games. And this wasn’t just a case of increased minutes resulting in increased production — his field goal percentage and his per-minute numbers across the board improved significantly this season.

Dana Gauruder: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Who knew this guy would turn into a triple-double threat every night? Certainly not many NBA scouts, as he lasted until the 41st pick in 2014. He’ll provide the Nuggets with a unique weapon in the post for years to come.

Chris Crouse: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
The Greek Freak became a star during the 2016/17 campaign, averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks per game. As noted above, he led the Bucks in all those categories and he helped them secure a playoff berth after missing the postseason last year. Going from good to great is the hardest step a player can make, and Antetokounmpo deserves credit for making that improvement.

Austin Kent: Isaiah Thomas (Celtics)
There are a number of players who went from good to great this year, but Thomas has been the most improved player in the traditional sense that I’m choosing to base my vote on. This season, Thomas evolved from an opportunistic volume scorer into an outright star, raising his point production (28.9 PPG) and shooting percentages (.464/.380/.909) across the board.

Despite his small stature, Thomas can be a primary offensive weapon for an elite team and not just in a quirky, forced way because he’s the only option. As Boston has grown into a contender, Thomas has developed into a reliable cornerstone and actually answered a lot of the organization’s needs from within.

Who is your pick for Most Improved Player? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year
April 14: Coach of the Year

Still to come:
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year
April 21: Most Valuable Player

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re keeping things going today with the award for Coach of the Year. Here are our picks:

Dana Gauruder: Mike D’Antoni (Rockets)
Many people thought D’Antoni was washed up and might not get another head coaching job. The Rockets rolled the dice and D’Antoni’s decision to make James Harden the primary ball-handler turned out to be a brilliant stroke. Houston has the second-most feared offense in the league behind only the uber-talented Warriors.

Austin Kent: Mike D’Antoni (Rockets)
In his first year with the Rockets, D’Antoni completely changed the culture of the organization. He didn’t just gradually facilitate the inevitable improvement of his players — he transformed how the team approaches the game. From the get-go, D’Antoni executed an unconventional vision and his decision to let Harden steer the ship as a point guard instantly spurred the team’s offensive metamorphosis and pushed Houston from a forgettable good team to a dark-horse great team.

Chris Crouse: Gregg Popovich (Spurs)
Popovich is the best coach in the league. The Spurs remain in contention for a title every year and Popovich’s ability to get the most out of the team’s talent is a major reason why — just look at Dewayne Dedmon and Jonathon Simmons this season. David Lee appeared to be on his way to out of the league only two seasons ago, but this year under Popovich, you can argue that he had his most effective season as a pro. D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra both deserve credit, but Pop continues to prove he deserves the award.

Arthur Hill: Brad Stevens (Celtics)
The Celtics were supposed to get better after adding Al Horford in free agency, but hardly anyone expected a No. 1 seed. Boston doesn’t have a superstar like the other elite teams, but Stevens constantly has the team playing above its talent level. He took Isaiah Thomas, who was cast off by both the Kings and Suns, and turned him into an MVP candidate, and he gave rookie Jaylen Brown a smooth transition into the rotation. Stevens has been recognized as one of the league’s best bench coaches for years, and now he has a No. 1 seed to back it up.

Luke Adams: Gregg Popovich (Spurs)
D’Antoni, Spoelstra, Scott Brooks, and a handful of other coaches have strong cases for this award, but it’s hard to vote against Popovich, who coaxed 61 wins out of a roster that’s not exactly loaded with All-Stars. While Kawhi Leonard is a bona-fide MVP candidate, many other Spurs are either past their primes (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol) or haven’t yet peaked (Jonathon Simmons, Kyle Anderson, Davis Bertans). Tim Duncan‘s retirement seemed to mark the end of an era in San Antonio, but the Popovich-led Spurs didn’t miss a beat in Duncan’s absence.

Who is your pick for Coach of the Year? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year

Still to come:
April 17: Most Improved Player
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year
April 21: Most Valuable Player

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Now that the 2016/17 NBA regular season has come to an end, we’ll be making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our picks below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re kicking things off today with the award for Executive of the Year. Here are our selections:

Dana Gauruder: Daryl Morey (Rockets)
The Rockets spent big bucks on free agents and those moves paid off. Eric Gordon stayed healthy for a change and emerged as the second-league scorer and Ryan Anderson filled the role of stretch four. A trade deadline move gave them another valuable piece – Lou Williams – for the playoffs.

Austin Kent: Bob Myers (Warriors)
The Warriors added a top-five player without disrupting their 73-win core. We can try to come up with excuses to give the award to somebody else, but that’s all they are — excuses. The addition of Kevin Durant may have interfered with the team’s flow at the beginning of the season but there’s no denying that the organization is in a better place in the long run. This front office hasn’t made many moves since the summer, but the few moves they’ve made have been smart and calculated. I give them full credit for adding Zaza Pachulia as a bargain bin replacement for Andrew Bogut and recognizing JaVale McGee’s value when other teams failed to.

Chris Crouse: Daryl Morey (Rockets)
Dwight Howard may no longer be the force he was during his prime, but he’s still a top center in the league and losing those types of players are supposed to hurt a franchise. The Rockets didn’t flinch when he left and part of the reason was the presence of Clint Capela. Morey had faith in the young center and that allowed him to use the majority of his resources to upgrade the team’s other positions.

Adding players is only part of the job of GM; knowing what you already have is equally as important. Morey deserves credit for assembling a team of shooters around James Harden, but he wouldn’t have been able to make some of his offseason moves if he didn’t have a great pulse on what he already had in-house. He checks all the Executive of the Year boxes for me.

Arthur Hill: Daryl Morey (Rockets)
After hiring Mike D’Antoni as coach last summer, Morey fully committed to the D’Antoni style of play. The Rockets have favored the 3-pointers and layups philosophy since Morey took over in 2007, but they never had the shooters to make it really work. This year, Morey signed Gordon and Anderson in free agency, then traded for Williams at the deadline. Add in the signing of veteran center Nene to a team-friendly deal, and it’s easy to see what the Rockets increased their win total by 14 games.

Luke Adams: John Hammond (Bucks)
Hammond’s work in free agency last summer wasn’t overly impressive, with lucrative long-term deals for Miles Plumlee and Mirza Teletovic not working out as planned. But newly-added Matthew Dellavedova was a crucial rotation piece in Milwaukee this season, and Hammond did excellent work in other areas.

Landing Tony Snell and Michael Beasley in two offseason trades in exchange for players who weren’t in the Bucks’ long-term plans was deft, as was snagging potential Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon in the second round of the draft and dumping Plumlee’s contract at the deadline. Meanwhile, many observers expected the Bucks to get whatever they could for Greg Monroe in a trade, but Hammond hung onto him and watched as he became one of the league’s most effective bench scorers. He also ignored calls to tank when Jabari Parker went down — that turned out to be the right decision, as the Bucks finished the season on an impressive 20-11 run, climbing to No. 6 in the East.

Who is your pick for Executive of the Year? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!

Schedule:
April 14: Coach of the Year
April 17: Most Improved Player
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year
April 21: MVP

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.