2017-18 NBA award predictions: Celtics clean up; James Harden gets MVP
By Ben Stern
In our 2017-18 NBA regular season award predictions, the Boston Celtics clean up and James Harden gets his elusive NBA MVP award
In our 2017-18 NBA regular season award predictions, the Boston Celtics clean up and James Harden gets his elusive NBA MVP award
With the season’s end quickly approaching, I took the opportunity to hand out awards based on
the strongest performers at this point. While some of these awards seem set in stone, there is a
lot that is yet to be determined.
The final stretch of the season will separate playoff teams from lottery teams, pretenders from contenders, and worthy award recipients from runner-ups
Executive of the Year
Winner: Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics
Tip to NBA general managers: STOP TRADING WITH DANNY AINGE! While Daryl Morey has done a phenomenal job assembling a legitimate challenger to the Warriors, Ainge gets the nod here, and it isn’t that close.
Although sidelined for the season, Gordon Hayward was a big time signing. Trading down and
drafting Tatum is looking like a steal, as Tatum looks like a future star and Fultz’s jumper is
broken. These two moves alone would put him in the conversation for the award, and we have
not even gotten to the best move yet.
Ainge traded a package developing around fan favorite
Isaiah Thomas, who we would soon find out was damaged goods, and the Brooklyn Nets pick
for Kyrie. Irving has come into his own as the leader of the team, leading the Celtics to a top two
seed in the East.
Unless the player selected with the Nets pick turns into an all star, this trade
will go down as the heist of the decade.
Runner up: Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets