Bernucca: My annual NBA award picks

I write this column every year two days before the regular season ends, and I usually get right to the point. But this year I am going to start a little differently.

So let me get one item off my chest and out of the way: Michele Roberts is way off base.

The new executive director of the NBA Players Association tried to reinvent the wheel this week when it was reported that she is instituting the Players Choice Awards, which will allow players – rather than the media – to vote on individual awards.

Lemme guess. A big shindig in Las Vegas during Summer League. Kevin Hart hosting. ESPN televising. Sponsored by Sprint.

“This program was created at your request to recognize outstanding performance of your peers, on and off the court,” Roberts wrote in a memo to players. “No one knows better than you what it takes to shine.”

Roberts was throwing shade at the media, which has been empowered by the NBA to vote on individual awards since the 1980-81 season. She also was throwing shade at coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and fervent fans in a zealous attempt to show her unwavering support for a rank and file that is a little more than two years away from a potentially nasty work stoppage.

There’s nothing wrong with this, of course. Baseball has been doing it for a while. But before Roberts suffers a subluxated shoulder from repeatedly patting herself on the back, let’s look at some of the issues with her latest idea.

Every player gets a vote, which means Jarnell Stokes – and I don’t mean to pick on Jarnell Stokes – votes on the performance of NBA players, even though he spent most of the season watching D-League players. I would bet my left hand that I watched more NBA games this season than Jarnell Stokes.

But just because every player gets a vote doesn’t mean every player will vote. Or maybe Roberts is unfamiliar with the union’s decertification vote in 1996, when 60 players didn’t vote at all on the small matter of whether or not to remain a union.

Unlike media votes, player votes are anonymous. That means they can vote for – or against – anyone, without any accountability or transparency. Given carte blanche, they will vote for teammates, players who share their agent, or even themselves, as LeBron James and Stephen Curry already have declared they would do. And they will vote against players they don’t like or have done them wrong in some way.

“I think the media and the fans have their own opinion, I think that’s the key part,” Wizards guard John Wall told reporters when asked about the awards. “Us as basketball players, we know who they are – who players are – but sometimes your pride and ego comes in and you don’t want to see that player get an award.”

This isn’t to say that every single voting member of the media is infallible. But they are paid to watch NBA games, to speak to NBA players, coaches and executives, and most of the folks I have met during my decades in this business take their jobs very seriously. In fact, I will know the exact moment when I am not taking my job seriously: My wife will stop complaining that basketball is on the TV all the time.

As for Roberts, she is more than capable of going about the business of best representing NBA players without simultaneously alienating the media. Because a little more than two years from now, she is going to need more than a few media members on her side. Especially if she gets clobbered in negotiations as Sheridan predicted in his final MVP rankings column of the season.

With that preamble out of the way, here are my season-ending awards, with the customary snarky remarks.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: Chicago’s Gar Forman deserves credit for snagging Pau Gasol in free agency and working the buyout with Real Madrid for Nikola Mirotic. Memphis’ John Hollinger/Chris Wallace get some props for getting Zach Randolph to sign a manageable extension, swapping for Jeff Green and signing Vince Carter, who may be heard from in the playoffs. And Houston’s Daryl Morey replaced Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin with Trevor Ariza, saw his starting center, power forward and point guard go down for long stretches and still somehow has a better team than a season ago through some crafty in-season deals for Corey Brewer, Josh Smith and Pablo Prigioni.

However, the winner should be Cleveland’s David Griffin. In the offseason, he had a hand in convincing LeBron James to return to Ohio – which led to the arrival of his superfriends – then swung the deal for Kevin Love. When one three-headed monster wasn’t enough, he made a pair of in-season trades to create another in former Knicks Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, dumping selfish Dion Waiters as a bonus. Pretty crafty for a first-year GM.

PRESEASON PICK: Griffin. MIDSEASON PICK: No one, really. It was too tight.

SNARKY REMARK: In one year, Phil Jackson has Knicks fans longing for the meddling of Jim Dolan.

COACH OF THE YEAR: As far as we can see, there are seven guys worth mentioning and they have a combined 18 full seasons of experience, or as many as Gregg Popovich. There should be some acknowledgement of the jobs done by Boston’s Brad Stevens, who refuses to let his team tank; Utah’s Quin Snyder, who has a bunch of kids playing terrific defense; Milwaukee’s Jason Kidd, who has expedited a rebuilding project; New Orleans’ Monty Williams, who has worked around injuries to all of his top players; and Houston’s Kevin McHale, who might be the best low-post scorer on his 3-point oriented team.

But as it was at midseason, this is really a two-man race between Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, who should get the nod because the Hawks are going to win 60-plus games – and make an improvement of 20-plus wins – without a true superstar. The last team to do that was probably the 2005-06 Detroit Pistons.

PRESEASON PICK: David Blatt. MIDSEASON PICK: Budenholzer.

SNARKY REMARK:  New York’s Derek Fisher is the runaway winner of the Roy Rubin/IHOP award.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: It’s no secret that the best perimeter defenders are Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio, Tony Allen of Memphis and Draymond Green of Golden State, whose abilities to guard virtually every position on the floor warrant serious attention. It’s also no secret that veteran big men Tim Duncan of San Antonio, Andrew Bogut of Golden State, Joakim Noah of Chicago and Marc Gasol of Memphis are among the best paint protectors because they remain shot-changers without abandoning their principles.

The metrics mavens tell you that Clippers center DeAndre Jordan’s defensive rating (98.5, seventh) and defensive box plus/minus (3.2, 11th) aren’t awesome and that he is not an elite rim protector. But Jordan leads the entire NBA in rebounds per game, defensive rebound percentage, total rebound percentage and defensive win shares while ranking fourth in blocks. And he seems to scare the living daylights out of most guys looking to get to the rim, so he’s my pick.

Down the road, look for Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel to develop their principles and win this award. Both already are awesome defenders.

PRESEASON PICK: Jordan. MIDSEASON PICK: Green.

SNARKY REMARK: If you want to see someone take a textbook defensive stance, just ask Byron Scott about tanking.

SIXTH MAN AWARD: This was Jamal Crawford’s to lose because (a) he pretty much was the Clippers’ bench through the first 60 games and (b) he was among the league leaders in fourth-quarter points. But Crawford missed 17 games, and the Clippers went 12-5 without him, hurting his cause.

In the mix are Golden State’s Marreese Speights (19.79 PER), Toronto’s Lou Williams (15.5 ppg, 20.04 PER), Chicago’s Taj Gibson (10.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson (14 double-doubles), Houston’s Josh Smith (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and even Bulls rookie Nikola Mirotic (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg).

But the best reserve this season actually changed teams – Isaiah Thomas, whose arrival in Boston triggered an unforseen playoff push. Forget his 19.6 ppg average with the Celtics or his overall 20.61 PER. He has given Boston a breakdown player that forces the defense to move and makes everyone around him just a bit better.

PRESEASON PICK: Andre Iguodala. MIDSEASON PICK: Speights.

SNARKY REMARK: When he signed with Charlotte, Lance Stephenson probably didn’t envision being eligible for this award but unworthy of a single third-place vote.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: This award appeared to be decided before Christmas, because Chicago’s Jimmy Butler – who tied for the league lead in minutes per game last season – raised his scoring average a staggering seven points per game while playing the same amount of time. Then Butler got hurt, and players like Golden State’s Draymond Green, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Miami’s Hassan Whiteside were shoehorned into the conversation.

Stop it. Those players enjoyed increases in playing time ranging from 27 percent to nearly 400 percent, and none of them trampolined into the All-Star Game like Butler, whose assists, rebounds and shooting are up as well.

PRESEASON PICK: Gorgui Dieng. MIDSEASON PICK: Butler.

SNARKY REMARK: Aaron Gordon and Dante Exum have positioned themselves up nicely to contend for this award next season. Same goes for Lance.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: It’s Andrew Wiggins, and it’s not even close. We addressed the reasons why Friday.

PRESEASON PICK: Nerlens Noel. MIDSEASON PICK: Wiggins.

SNARKY REMARK: Wanna play an NBA version of Where’s Waldo? Try to find the highest-scoring game by any rookie this season in this AP recap.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: The All-NBA Third Team should be Blake Griffin, Tim Duncan, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. The toughest snubs were John Wall, Damian Lillard and Paul Millsap, all of whom ironically were cut from Team USA last summer. The Second Team should be Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Boy, the guard pool is really deep, huh?

The First Team should be Anthony Davis, LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry and James Harden, which takes us into the MVP discussion for the last time.

Curry’s credentials are all in place. He is the best player on the league’s best team, has fantastic numbers and became a better defender. He also has the often overlooked factors of being a relatively normal-sized human being – which certainly didn’t hurt the causes of Allen Iverson and Steve Nash – and has telegenic, boyish charm about him, which leads to endorsements and visibility. If you doubt that, just take a look to the left at the flyer that arrived in my mail last week.

With a beard that looks like it belongs in the Stanley Cup playoffs or the ACB and a game that seeks contact instead of open space, Harden is at an aesthetic disadvantage. But all of his credentials also are in place. He also has fantastic numbers and became a better defender.

And for me, this is the clincher. At full strength, no one would say Houston has a better roster than Golden State. Yet the Rockets are going to win 55 games and still could claim the Southwest Division and the second seed in the West despite being third among all teams in most player games lost to injury. Harden has done slightly more with considerably less.

Harden should win. Curry probably will win.

PRESEASON PICK: James. MIDSEASON PICK: Harden.

SNARKY REMARK: With 15 technical fouls, a sideline argument with his coach and a potential assault charge, Markieff Morris is the Most Volatile Player.

TRIVIA: If Stephen Curry wins MVP, he will be the second member of the Warriors franchise to do so. Who was the first? Answer below.

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe received two technical fouls and an ejection for arguing a call by referees that went in his favor.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Normally reticent San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, on the constantly shuffling Western
Conference playoff race:

“I try to figure out where we are, where we could be and it gives me a headache, so I just stop looking.”

TANKS A LOT!: In the Lakers’ home win over the Timberwolves on Friday, Los Angeles used three rookies and two second-year players among its eight players, while Minnesota used four rookies and three second-year players among its nine. “Some people might say that’s tanking. I don’t know,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “But I think you’re really just trying to evaluate the talent that you have.”

LINE OF THE WEEK: Stephen Curry, Golden State vs. Portland, April 9: 35 minutes, 7-23 FGs, 8-13 3-pointers, 3-3 FTs, two rebounds, 10 assists, four turnovers, 45 points in a 116-105 win. In a nationally televised game, Curry made a late pitch to MVP voters with a scorching performance. He became the first Golden State player with 45 points and 10 assists since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.

LINE OF THE WEAK: Dwyane Wade, Miami vs. Chicago, April 9: 38 minutes, 4-20 FGs, 1-3 3-pointers, 0-0 FTs, three rebounds, three assists, zero blocks, zero steals, five turnovers, nine points in an 89-78 loss. Wade had been carrying Miami’s offense during its push for the playoffs but missed his first nine shots of the second half, greatly contributing to an eight-point third quarter that turned a double-digit lead into a crushing double-digit home loss.

TRILLION WATCH: It was a quiet week until Saturday, when Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich crashed the season leaderboard with a 6 trillion vs. Philadelphia before suffering a hyperextended left knee. Honorable mention to Heat guard Mario Chalmers, who wrecked a 9 trillion with an assist Tuesday vs. Charlotte.

GAME OF THE WEEK: San Antonio at New Orleans, April 15. Will Spurs coach Gregg Popovich stick with his practice of resting players to have them ready for the postseason and present the Pelicans with a potential path to the playoffs? Or will he put some stock in the knowledge that a loss could drop San Antonio from second to sixth in the West and make its path to another title discernibly more difficult?

GAME OF THE WEAK: LA Lakers at Sacramento, April 13. These are two of the six worst teams in the league, and both already have committed to sitting their better players. As an added bonus, there is a rematch two nights later in Los Angeles.

TWO MINUTES: Sim Bhullar made history Tuesday when he played the closing seconds of Sacramento’s win over Minnesota, becoming the first native of India to play in the NBA. The 7-5 center played for the Kings’ summer league entry and was signed but waived in training camp, spending most of the season playing for the Reno Bighorns of the D-League while getting his weight down from an estimated 400 pounds to a more manageable 360. Bhullar isn’t the only player on Sacramento’s roster who became the first NBA flag-bearer for his country. The Kings also have Omri Casspi, who became the first NBA player from Israel in 2009 and faced discrimination from outside the league but has carved out a nice career. He had some advice for Bhullar. “I told him to enjoy the ride,” he said. “You got 2 billion Indians looking up to you. Be the best role model you can be and have fun with it.” … On Saturday, the Knicks and Magic set back the NBA about 60 years – literally. The teams combined for just 15 points in the second quarter, the lowest total since the inception of the shot clock in 1954. New York and Orlando combined to shoot 6-of-39 from the field with nine turnovers, seven by the Magic. … The Bucks became the 10th team in NBA history – and the first since Miami in 2008 and 2009 – to go from the league’s worst record to a playoff berth in one season. Conversely, the Heat are on the verge of becoming the first team to go from making the NBA Finals to missing the playoffs since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 and 2005. … The Timberwolves haven’t won in regulation since beating Portland at home on March 7, going 2-17 to catch the Knicks for the league’s worst record. If Minnesota wins the lottery, it will have the last three top overall picks on its roster.

Trivia Answer: Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960. … Happy 51st Birthday, Phil Zevenbergen. … Apparently, the Morris twins really are inseparable – even when it comes to alleged assaults.

Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.