It’s always intriguing to read the minds of general managers of the NBA: they are the ones who produce the teams we watch, afterall. NBA.com’s annual GM Survey was released on Monday and predictably, the Heat and LeBron James were on top of many of the winning categories.
Along the way, though, you’ll find some interesting – if not somewhat funny (see “Who will win the 2012-2013 MVP” section) – votes that went to places you may or may not expect. For example, you won’t find Kobe Bryant anywhere near the list of “best leader”. Make of that what you will. I’m sure some player out there that shares a part of Peter Parker’s name would agree with the notion.
Moving onto notable news around the league from Monday, see why Dwight Howard’s debut as a Laker immediately changed the complexion of the team, Erik Spoelstra’s regret about James and much more below:
Emotions got the best of Dwight Howard before the start of his first preseason game with the Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “As the bright lights of the Hollywood stage enveloped Howard in the embrace of a deafening din, the strangest thing happened to the planet’s most dominant, most indomitable force: The moment moved him to tears. “Emotional,” Howard would say outside his locker Sunday night. “A very humbling experience.” On the occasion of his preseason Lakers debut, perhaps his truest and most important introduction to this most scrutinized job in sports – center for the Los Angeles Lakers – had come after the tears and ovation and his teammates pranking him by pushing Howard to lead them out of the tunnel – only to stop and let him run out there alone.”
- Here are some highlights of Howard against the Kings: