For the past 16 years NBA.com has conducted a preseason survey of the NBA’s general managers. The GMs are asked to predict how various aspects of the upcoming season will play out, to rank different players, and to assess which teams made the best offseason moves. In this year’s survey two Portland Trail Blazers players and one coach were mentioned in the answers.
NBA GMs listed Jusuf Nurkic as the fourth most likely player to have a breakout season:
Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2017-18?
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota – 21%
2. Kristaps Porzingis, New York – 14%
Myles Turner, Indiana – 14%
4. Jusuf Nurkic, Portland – 10%
5. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota – 7%
Caleb Swanigan, who impressed in his preseason debut last night, was tied for third place as the “biggest steal” of the draft:
Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the Draft?
1. Dennis Smith Jr. (9), Dallas – 37%
2. Kyle Kuzma (27), L.A. Lakers – 22%
3. Donovan Mitchell (13), Utah – 7%
Caleb Swanigan (26), Portland – 7%
Assistant coach David Vanterpool was listed as one of the best assistant coaches in the league.
Who is the best assistant coach in the NBA?
1. Ron Adams, Golden State – 21%
2. Ettore Messina, San Antonio – 14%
3. Mike Brown, Golden State – 10%
David Vanterpool, Portland – 10%
NBA GMs selected the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA title this upcoming season with an overwhelming margin of 93 percent—the highest in the history of the survey. LeBron James was selected as the favorite to win the MVP with 50% of the votes. Interestingly, reigning MVP Russel Westbrook did not receive any votes.
The full results of the GM survey can be found here.