[OhCanada-Participant]

Last year CJ McCollum took the honours for the NBA MIP Award. Here’s some candidates for this years award. Note that I’m leaving Sophomores off of the list.

Honerable Mentions- Clint Capela, MKG, Aaron Gordon, Steven Adams, Jerryd Bayless.

HM Spotlight!-Derrick Williams- Miami Heat

-Kind of a sleeper pick here at #11. Williams played an energy role as an explosive combo forward for New York off of the bench last year. He was actually very productive last year and posted career best per 36-minute numbers (19-ppg, 7-rpg, 2-apg) behind Carmelo Anthony. This year he joins a Miami that lost three vets (Wade, Deng, Johnson) who’s scoring need to be replaced. Miami is a young team and Williams could emerge as one of third more consistent scoring options.

10-TJ Warren-Phoenix Suns

-TJ is my guy. I’ve always loved his unorthodox game. He has a good sense for the court and knows how to put the ball in the hoop. With Phoenix likely rolling out a 3 gaurd lineup and having invested lottery picks in two PF’s that will definitely go through a learning curve Warren is in a position to eat up a lot of minutes as a combo forward. Two fit into the teams concept he has to increase his comfort shooting threes and become a more active rebounder.

9-Donatas Motiejunas-Houston Rockets

-The Dwight Howard shoe has left Houston which will allow two of the most underused bigs in recent years to show what they’ve got. Capela and Motiejunas. Why do I hove Motie higher? Donatas does a bit of everything and with Dantoni coaching the Rockets I think he will fall in love with his game and won’t look back. Mike Dantoni gives a lot of minutes to players he likes and Moties productivity and versatility has been on full display since he entered the league.

8-Rodney Hood-Utah Jazz

-As a fan favourite of this site I may have him a bit lower than most people but I just don’t see him assuming much more of an offensive role this year. Hood is a cerebral offensive player and a lefty which cusses problems for his opponents. His game is very mature for his age but with Hayward leading the show as another wing player, Favors needing his post touches and Lyle’s emerging I don’t see him scoring more than 17-ppg this year.

7-Victor Oladipo-Oklaholma City Thunder

Oladipo has a chance here with OKC to break into a new tier and emerge as an NBA star. He will be playing for second fiddle with Ends Kanter led by Russ Westbrook and has never really gotten a chance to be an iso stud in his time with the Magic. Oladipo has had a rough beggining of his career. His first year he was put at PG due to a logjam in Orlando. His three coaches in 3 years with the Magic were all tough, no nonsense coaches two of which have a reputation for being extra tough on gaurds (Vaughn and Skiles). Now he goes to play for Billy Donovan in what seems like it will continue to be iso heavy and a much more defined role for Oladipo.

6-Jordan Clarkson- LA Lakers

Clarkson would be much higher on this list but he had sort of a mini breakout year last season averaging 17-ppg, 4-rpg, 3-apg. This was also during Kobe’s farewell tour. Nonetheless he still has much more upside as shown by a few things. His rookie season when he broke out without Kobe around his usage was higher and his APG was a lot higher 5-apg to 3-apg. Kobe’s usage was 32% while Clarksons was 22% last year. Russell and Clarkson will try to emmulate what Lilliard and Mcollum did last year and Jordan has a good chance of winning the MIP award just as CJ McCollum did last year.

5-Evan Fournier-Orlando Magic

OhCanada approves in FourniEH. Last year he tweeted that the Raptors wouldn’t even win one game against Cleveland so I probally shouldn’t have him on this list! All jokes aside he will likely be their 1st option along with Vucevic. 1-a and 1-b. With the Magic starting Payton and Vucevic their wings will have to be dead on from range and Fournier has proven to be a sharpshooter. With Oladipo out he assumes the secondary playmaker role as well. Should be a huge year for the Corny Forni.

4-Enes Kanter-Oklaholma City Thunder

Coming into his draft I thought he would be the best player in his class because of his combination of speed and strength but he hasn’t found a way to be effective defensively and receieve big minutes. The Thunder were able to figure out a way to mask his liabilities in the playoffs last year but it starts with Kanters own effort. Losing Durant and his 7’5 length and ability to gaurd 4-positions effectively should hurt Enes ability to be hidden on that end. Either way he has averaged 22-ppg, 14-rpg per 36 minutes in his time with the Thunder and should average around 30 minutes next year. Aside from Cousins its hard to argue he could lead the league in 20-point 10-rebound games.

3-Andrew Wiggins-Minnesota Timberwolves

Wiggins has all the tools in the world to become a 25-ppg scorer in this league and the table will always be set for him to eat in Minnesota but I don’t think this is the year he emerges as a superstar. Wiggins will be asked to focus defensively and start applying consistent effort on that end for 35-mpg which will be new to him. He will also be told to change his shot selection/patterns because he takes way too many contested 17-20 foot jumpers. While in the long run these changers will really help Wiggins I don’t expect him to flourish until the end of the season. If he adapts faster he has the most potential on this list. Can’t wait to see the finished product but he is still young/raw compared to when he will be fully developed.

2-Jabari Parker-Milwaukee Bucks

There aren’t many players in the league who have as much potential as Parker either. I have him ranked ahead of Wiggins because he hasn’t really been featured as a number 1 option the way Andrew has but this should be the year he gets that opportunity. The Bucks seem committed in Jabari and he is a great team player his team should let him be the number one option this year. He has shot 49% from the field and has a 20% usage rate. Give him touches and shots and let him play freely the way you let Gianni’s develop and I’m sure hr can develop into one of the best in the league.

3-Dennis Schroeder-Atlanta Hawks

Morale is very high in Atlanta at this time. Howard unexpectedly brought a positive attitude and new work ethic, Bazemore got paid and Schroeder got a starting role, added responsibility, and more playing time. He’s been asking for the opportunity as a featured gaurd for a while and now he finally gets his shot and he gets it on a team featuring Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard in the frontcourt and Kyle Korver as your bailout shooter. Those are three very savvy vets that will make things easy for any PG. Schroeder is lightning quick yet plays with a good pace. His jumper has been improving and will need to be consistent. Schroeder is an aggressive and confident player and he should take full advantage this year.

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

Zach Lavine, Myles Turner, & Devin Booker deserve a mention.

Although I wouldn’t bank on it, Harrison Barnes is in a great situation to contend for the award.

But it’s Schroeder’s to lose, no doubt.

 

 

[Hype Machine]

Of that bunch, I’ll go with Jabari Parker. Hes got his weaknesses but I see 23ppg and a breakout game where he drops 50.

[shug94Participant]

1. Dennis Schroeder
+ Seems like an obvious candidate, with more minutes and full organisational belief behind him.
2. Harrison Barnes
+ Should put up great numbers in his new situation.
3. Myles Turner
+ I know he is a soph (who you were staying away from), but I expect epic improvement.
4. Marcus Smart
+ There are tons of extra minutes for him this year.
5. Jeremy Lamb
+ I think unexpectedness helps with this award. If Batum is injured in the olympics and Lamb gets a personality transplant then he could win this award. He has the stroke and the wingspan to be an excellent player in this league…

[TheTruth86Participant]

 You excluded sophs but I think KAT has a real chance if he goes 25 pts /12.5 rebs/ 2.5 blks or close to those numbers on a 5-6th seeded Wolves .

[OhCanada-Participant]

Completely forgot about Barnes. He’s been playin well this Summer with team USA and has a lot to prove. I would put him 5th just slightly ahead of Fournier.

[BennyLogParticipant]

 I think aaron gordon will end up being higher on this list and my dark horse would be mario hezonja. He should get a much bigger role off the bench with oladipo gone and has proven to be a sharp shooter just needs to be more consistant and more PT helps that

[HitsterParticipant]

Very good list. Oladipo has had some fairly good seasons so would need to show a lot of stats upside to get into contention. Him moving from 15-17ppg to 20-22ppg isn’t like someone going from 10ppg to 20-22ppg.

I fully agree with Dennis Schroder and Jabari being leading contenders, I could see Giannis being a contender again.

Russell at Lakers post Kobe could put up good numbers, Devin Booker might kick on from a good rookie year.

The D’Antoni factor at Houston and Barnes at Dallas are rightly mentioned.

Brooklyn will have minutes to fill and an unsung player might put up so inflated stats there if they get shots.

[JoeWolf1]

I think it’s the Giannis Antetokounmpo’s year. He made some pretty significant strides last season, but I think the Bucks could potentially be at least in the playoff hunt next season. I think at 22, he’ll take the next leap and put up some insane numbers for a Milwaukee team that is good enough to not count against him.

[HitsterParticipant]

It would be fun if the MIP award became a shoot out between Giannis and Jabari with them both being on the same team.

Another guy I’ll throw in the mix is Steve Adams who with KD and Ibaka both gone will get more shots and better rebounding and blocking stats.

[EspressoParticipant]

 Will "The Thrill" Barton deserves an honorable mention

[iguapops420Participant]

 Surprised no love for D’Lo. His rookie numbers were better than some of the bigger stars of today such as Harden at a tender age of 18-19. In an offense where he will see more touches and minutes than last year along with tons of freedom in P&R heavy offense i expect a big year. Nearly unmatched vision, killer developing post game, and sweet midrange game. I actually expect him to end up having a better year than JC who showed he is much more of a scorer than playmaker as he is lacking in the vision and has a tendency to pick up the drible at the first sign of pressure. The Lakers losing Steve Nash to GSW was a big hit to JC. That was his guy who was really helping him develop his pg skills. They regressed after the loss of Nash.

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